


(Mis)adventures of (Re)Becca Smellie

by Frootilla



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Beauty and the Beast Fusion, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, And Now For Something Completely Different, Beauty and the Beast Elements, Mad Science, Multi, Science Fiction & Fantasy
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-17
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 15
Words: 48,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26905114
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Frootilla/pseuds/Frootilla
Summary: When the Dark Overlord 's bride kidnapping doesn't go as planned, he is forced to deal with her mad scientist teenage sister - little do they know that this could work out to both of their advantages.*****Rebecca Smellie starts off her first year of college with a real boom, much to the chagrin of her older sister, Isabella. That same day across the city of Aliva, Opaleian puts the next phase of his world conquest plan in motion: extract the most beautiful woman on Earth and make her his bride. However, the day doesn't go as planned for anyone, and as more and more discoveries are made about the past, the present, and the future, everyone grapples to find their truth and purpose.Except for Becca. Becca's just here for the science and the friends.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Entrapta/Hordak (She-Ra), Mermista/Sea Hawk (She-Ra)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 5





	1. Prologue: Venus

**Author's Note:**

> AU with some of my favorite She-Ra (2018) ships, new storylines, new names, and new adventures! This story is ongoing and is posted on Wattpad under the same title. Updates every 3-4 days if my job lets me take nights off!

Once upon a time, Earth was a world ruled by factions of aliens and humans vying for power. After centuries of war, life as humans knew it began to return to normal. For the most part, they co-existed peacefully with the otherworldly beings that once tried to conquer their planet. Some countries integrated them into their lives, albeit politically or socially, while others drove them out in hordes.

It took almost 200 years until a sense of normalcy could be found on Earth again. Rebellions occasionally formed to drive out the aliens from the planet, but these beings now had political and social protections. Many of such protections came from the bonds formed between aliens and humans. Bonds that most “pure-blooded” aliens found repulsive.

That is, unless the human was worthy enough to be trusted and included as a part of Arcturium.

Few aliens believed in Arcturium anymore, as most had assimilated after centuries of mixed marriages, schooling, and friendships. Others, like Opaleian and his entire family lineage (with one exception), distanced themselves fully from the humans and calculated their every move in order to one day reclaim the power of the Arcturium alliance in his family’s name, and take over the world by building a pure dynasty.

The work was difficult. It required a deep understanding of the humans in mind, body and soul.

For this reason, and after much trepidation and unsuccessful deterrent from his two associates, he made the decision to try a new war tactic to infiltrate the humans.

It was time to…take a wife. A human wife. And he had his eyes set on the most beautiful of them all. He didn’t know much about her, except her name.

**Isabella.**


	2. Blast Off

The loudest alarm of the neighborhood went off on Villeneuve Street. From household 1740 to be precise.

It came from the buzzing of a retro alarm clock, which caused a wooden catapult on a bedside table to launch a succession of marbles across the room. They landed into a neat little filter that made their way down like obedient little ants into a tube, where they landed into a dog bowl with purple letters spelling out “Emily” in coded language.

A little half robot, half Daschund dog that was slumbering under the bed woke up and absorbed the marbles like a vacuum, leaving out the cat eye ones as usual. It checked the calendar in its operating system by blinking three times and licking its nose, and upon noting the big red circle and star emojis on the date, proceeded to pull on the lever beside her owner’s bed.

This caused a mechanical hand to emerge from the top of the bed frame and start spinning wildly on top of the snoring princess curled into a ball and hugging her pillow.

Upon waking, she grabbed the hand and pulled it, causing it to retreat into the bed frame. With a wide yawn, she pulled out her trusty recorder from inside her pillow.

“Log day 1476…and day 1 of new College log! Today is _finally_ my first day - and it’s going to be perfect!”

Becca Smellie woke up in an especially cheerful mood that morning. She rubbed Emily's belly, and put some of her homemade gourmet oil and bolts in her dog bowls before dressing herself in her long overalls and a freshly pressed shirt her father had left on the edge of her bed earlier that morning.

Despite looking like a doll due to her tiny stature and cherubic round face, Becca was old enough to do everything regular 18-year-olds did. Go to college, fix and race cars, stay up after midnight, build drones, go stargazing in the middle of the wilderness, intercept alien signal messages usually only traceable by government agents, play video games until sunrise...The usual.

Her unusually large brown eyes always popped up from her deep, purple bags. She had olive-toned skin with a few freckles and sunspots on her arms and chest. During most of the year, she was either shedding off a farmer’s tan or making it more pronounced. As a baby, she was unusually pale, but she developed a semi-permanent tan the summer she went to the Aliva Astro Camp sponsored by her father’s work in government. The team she was assigned didn’t care for working on a rocket with the record high heat index of the year. The camp counselors gave them, and all teams, a pass to forego the competition this year given the extraneous circumstances.

Hearing the verdict was one thing, listening was a whole other.

Keen to put her fresh new tools to the test, she built the entire rocket on her own. And launched it. Much to the dismay of the camp counselors that had to deal with the evacuations after it successfully blazed…or rather, blasted off. Thanks to her strong legs and great stamina, she was able to outrun any of the counselors trying to grab her and succeeded to run all the way home. This stamina always shocked everyone around her, since no one ever saw her work out a day in her life. Her simple reply to the angry campers of her cohort when she won the Sports Day competitions was: “It’s not rocket science. You just put one foot in front of the other.”

Tying up her floor-length purple hair into her signature pigtails, Becca flung herself out of her room adjacent to the family ‘tinkerbox’ lab before running upstairs, making sure not to trip on any wires or gaming controllers. She jumped into her usual seat at the breakfast table and greeted her father and sister good morning with a piece of buttered toast in her mouth.

Bella, her older step-sister, smiled and kissed Becca on the top of her head before handing her a plate of her favorite mini breakfast egg sandwiches. Becca’s eyes glowed with happiness.

“Wooooow! And you even put the ketchup into the perfect little symmetrical dabs!”

“Yes weirdo, just the way you like it,” Bella winked.

Isabella was the most beautiful woman in the world. At least, to those who knew her. Beauty is objective after all, but she was known and admired throughout the entire West Coast of the United States. Before she graduated high school, she was already offered 120 different modeling contracts, just from her Pixtagram page alone. She was average height but had lean, long legs, strong arms, and a killer rack of abs she was very proud of. Her soft golden blonde hair reached just below her chest, and her green eyes always changed color under different lighting.

Unlike Becca, who had the same cute and shrill voice since she was a child, Bella’s voice was angelic. When she was nine years old, she would accompany Becca to the speech therapist. Upon hearing Bella’s voice, the therapist took her on as a pupil for her second job as a voice coach. She didn’t have to teach Bella very much, because Bella was, as she told the girls’ father: “A musical prodigy.” She quickly learned to play the piano, flute, ukulele, guitar, harp, violin, and saxophone. Just as Becca always wore her dirty grease-stained overalls at home, Bella usually put on an apron as soon as she walked through the door. Cooking was her biggest de-stressor, along with gardening.

“Excited for today?” Bella asked.

“Are you _kidding_? Excited doesn’t even begin to describe it! I can finally work on my experiments and not get interrupted by police? Learn new stuff? Make friends!”

Becca’s eyes gleamed as her excitement grew with every word. Their father, Maurice, who was listening in from the kitchen, sat down and served himself breakfast with a smile.

Maurice was an older gentleman originally from France. He lived in Scotland for many years before emigrating to America and adopting Isabella and Rebecca from the Exchange Services Agency as part of his government contract. He never knew he wanted to be a dad until he first brought Bella home, over 21 years ago. Bella always wanted a family of 10 and a little sister, and Maurice knew that he wanted a bigger family too. That’s where Becca came in next.

After bringing her home, they had their hands tied up enough to not consider any more little bundles of joy. Becca brought in enough joy and trouble to make up for a whole clan’s worth.

Maurice was a tranquil man. He was short, wore round frame glasses Bella joked about often, saying they were “too hipster” for him. He had dusty grey hair and a big beer belly from his years of daytime administrative desk work and evenings at the local pub. He enjoyed cooking with his eldest daughter Bella and tinkering with his youngest, Becca. They were his two greatest joys in life.

He had grown fond of Emily, too. He picked her up and put her on his lap as he sat down to the breakfast table

“It’s going to be a real adventure for you, poppet. Just make sure to stay close to Bells so you don’t get lost around campus.”

“I know papa, I will!” she responded as she munched on her sandwiches and the cut-up fruit on her plate. “Just think of all of the lab work I’ll finally get to do! And all the lab partners I can make! Do you think I’ll find a team to enter the Robotics competition? It’s my dream and I’ve never been able to enter before…”

“I’m sure you will,” Bella said with a smile. “Anyone who has you on their team is sure to win. Show them what you’re made of and you’ll have everyone at your feet, begging you to help them.”

Becca smiled and wiggled in her chair. The anticipation was killing her. She looked at her watch and counted the seconds for about five minutes as Bella popped grapes into her mouth with one hand and ate from her own plate with another.

“I’m packing you your favorite lunch and some snacks today, with sticky notes on top of each with the times. Think you can set the reminders on your phone to remember?”

“Oh yes! I will do that.”

“And what do we say?” Maurice asked.

“Thank you Noob!” Becca answered cheekily.

“You’re welcome half-pint,” Bella said with a laugh. “Do you want to get your bag ready?”

“I finished packing last week! I have everything I need: recorder, pencils, notebooks, laptop, phone, calculator, batteries, protractor, t-square, screwdriver set, protective goggles, microscope, lab vials and sample containers…”

“M-maybe you don’t need all of that, poppet,” Maurice said gently. “How about just sticking with the basics for the first day?”

Becca pondered in thought for a moment. “So…just the goggles?”

“I may not be a mad genius like you, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen people carry their own microscopes to their classes.”

Becca gasped. “ _Really?!_ ”

“Really really. I mean, it makes sense since they kind of give you all the material you need,” Bella explained, “maybe just stick to the note-taking materials for today. If it was anything like my first year in Lit they’ll just review the syllabus and let you out early.”

“Syllabus…syllabus…” Becca murmured under her breath. “From the late Latin ‘syllabus’ meaning ‘list,’ which was a misreading of the Greek work ‘sittybos’ meaning parchment label or table of contents…”

Bella gathered the empty plates and headed back into the kitchen. “I still need to pack my things so I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

Her sister’s voice snapped Becca out of her daze. She looked at the time and winced. Only 45 minutes until the start of classes.

“But but, we’ll be late! We have to go now!”

“We’ll make it in plenty of time, we’re only five minutes away,” she said calmly. “How about while I get ready you go get the car started?”

Maurice spit out his coffee, though Becca didn’t seem to notice. She jumped out on her chair, grabbed the keys from the foyer and ran out before hearing her father protest. He looked at his eldest with concern.

“Are—are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Relax, papa. It’s a short drive. If she passed her driving test it means the law thinks she can drive just fine.”

“I’m pretty sure that bloke gave her the license so she would stop showing up and doing wheelies with their cars during the test…”

Bella finished packing the dishwasher and headed upstairs. “I trust her, don’t worry.”

“Right,” he sighed following her up the stairs to her room, “Bells, are you sure she’ll be alright? She’s never gone to school before, and I hate to admit that when we sent in the application, I don’t think I really believed they would accept her.But I do worry about the people there. They’re good folks them all, I know it. But I just can’t help but worry they’ll make my little girl feel…different.”

“Becca _is_ different, papa,” Bella responded. “That’s what makes her Becca. That’s why we love her. I’ll be there to protect her as much as I can, but we both know we need to let go a bit. She’s not a baby anymore. We need to trust her.”

Emily barked and walked in at that moment. Bella smiled. “Do you really think anyone besides Becca could have saved Emily?” she asked her dad.

He nodded in acknowledgment. Perhaps she was right. Becca was brilliant. He had nothing to worry about.

Emily’s collar turned on to show Becca in the driver’s seat of the family car.

“Awaiting your permission for blast off, captain!”

“Aye aye commander!” Bella said grabbing her bag as she pushed Emily and her dad out of her room. “I was thinking of inviting Val for dinner tonight to celebrate the big day. Does that work for you, papa?”

“Of course. I’ll be home late, so you girls go ahead and get started without me.”

The car honking grew louder so Becca rushed to get her last belongings before slipping on her flats. As she got to the door, Maurice held out their lunchboxes for her. 

“Just like old times,” he said with a nostalgic smile. “Have a good day, and take care of Becca.”

Bella smiled back. “Always.”

“Oh, and Bells!” he said calling out to her before she left the house. “Be sure to tell her not to go too mad genius on everyone on the first day. Let the other kids catch up a bit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Leave a comment and like if you're enjoying the story!


	3. Rover

The sisters pulled up to the campus with a loud screech and the smell of burnt rubber wafting in the air. Bella was hanging onto the car’s roof handle when Becca made an abrupt skid into a parking spot. She took some deep breaths to re-situate the food in her stomach before exiting the vehicle, pushing back the urge to kiss the ground.

“That was amazing!” Becca said. “I think I’m really getting the hang of this.”

“You—you parked perfectly,” Bella said hiding her face. “Let’s head to class?”

“Yes yes yes!”

They walked to the middle of Healy Rotunda, where students congregated all around a circular hall with multiple powered staircases and tv screens listing announcements and designated classrooms. As busy as it was, multiple people who saw the sisters stopped in their tracks.

A few who knew Bella, little as they may, approached to catch up after summer break. She smiled and talked a bit with them before turning around and making her way to the announcement board, where she saw Becca hanging out and pulling a plug out of.

Bella grabbed her hand. “What were you doing?”

“Nothing! Who was that?”

“Oh I don’t know actually,” she said laughing. “They said I TAed them but I don’t remember them honestly.”

Becca shrugged and they approached the main announcement board, deeper into the rotunda where the crowds were really gathering and dispersing into different areas of campus. The campus was divided into academic study areas, and each electric staircase led the students to their designated area. All they needed to access each staircase, and the subsequent levels, was their student ID that would list their permissions. First years, like Becca, were only allowed to their registered class levels and study areas. Bella, who was in her fifth and final year of school and also had an academic badge associated to her ID, could travel around campus more liberally.

Even among the flood of people rushing around, the sisters really stood out. Becca’s long purple hair, tiny stature, and distracted appearance made people turn their heads in confusion, especially when contrasted to Bella. Her long blonde and wavy hair studded with decorative flowers caught the eyes of students and teachers alike. Her lean legs were shown off by a long and flowing dress cut open at the sides that moved delicately with every step. Becca followed close behind with her face in her phone, her floor-length pigtails moving at the same rhythm as her sister’s dress.

When she lifted her head, she was amazed to see the number of people all around her.

“Wooooow! This is the absolute most perfect place for a social experiment-“ she said walking a few steps away and approaching a random staircase to try and get a better view.

Bella pulled her back. “Nuh-uh, you’re staying next to me. Throw me a bone and wait until the second day to get lost?”

“Right, right!” she exclaimed pulling up an intricate 3D model map of the school on her phone.

“Where did you get that?!”

“We’re looking for room 401A lecture hall, located on Stairway 4 in the Southern quadrant of campus outside of Healy. Nearby facilities include bathrooms approximately 20 feet away and two vending machines down the hall. One containing carbonated drinks and another with energy bars and-“ she looked at her phone. “Cup noodles? What’s that?”

“The blood, sweat, and tears of a college student,” she said with a smirk. Becca looked at her in confusion. “It’s a joke, Bec.”

Becca’s expression was blank, but she forced a maniacal laugh - her traditional social tactic in awkward circumstances.

“Alrighty...I have my map fully downloaded, and I’m hooked to the wifi… sooo I’ll be going!”

“Oh no you don’t,” Bella said grabbing her overalls. “I promised dad I would drop you off.”

Becca whined like a puppy. “It’s all under control! Besides, what were you going to do? Tell the professor I may need to be sedated?” she asked with a laugh.

With an embarrassed smile, Bella rubbed the back of her head and shrugged, to which Becca only answered with a cry of annoyance.

“I promised dad I would have a word with the professor on his behalf,” Bella explained.

“I can handle it,” Becca reassured her. “I’ll even give him my tranquilizer darts.”

“Ha! You didn’t really bring them…did you?”

“Just one. I tested it on a squirrel by accident the other day but I think it made it allergic to nuts instead of calming its anxiety…”

“Um. How about you go and try going in fresh without telling anyone,” Bella said gently and pulled her sister into a hug, reaching into the right pocket of her overall

She knew Becca always kept the latest iteration of her creations in her front pockets for easy access. She felt a little vial and pulled it out successfully, hiding it in her hand as she held her tight.

“Really?” Becca asked, wide-eyed with happiness.

“You can do anything you set your mind to, Bec.”

Becca hugged her back. “Aw, thanks. I’ll be good! You’ll see. I’ll prove to you and dad and everyone that I can do this!”

Bella kissed the top of her head. “You don’t need to prove anything to me, I know you can. Just don’t forget that even the best scientists needed a little help along the way.”

After a little more banter and schedule coordination for the rest of the day, they each went their separate ways to their classes.

Bella sat down at the front of her lecture hall and was immediately surrounded by other students, most of them male.

“Hey,” one of them sitting to her right greeted her. “Are you an alien? Because you’re out of this world, _babe_.”

“Actually _stud_ , she’s not,” a female voice said from behind him. “But her girlfriend is.”

Bella laughed and outstretched her hand to the woman menacingly staring at the male student.

It was Valeria, donned with an unassuming pair of her signature ripped jeans and a black cropped shirt that covered her chest.

Valeria was very tall and strong, with skin the color of a pale green leaf. She wore her hair short and messy, just up to her ears, with the exception of a single braid wrapped in a colorful string that she changed and cut with every new Arrival Year celebration. Her studded ears held numerous pieces of jewelry on each and usually pointed downwards - unless she sensed something was out of place. Unlike humans, her people’s ears and noses interacted directly between one another, so when she could smell something awry, her ears twitched up.

In cases such as these, when she could smell a male’s pheromones intercepting her lover’s, her ears perked up fully and all of her senses heightened. A sign of dispute at best…a battle to the death at worst. It rarely never made it to that point. 

Rarely.

There was a time when Bella and Valeria first started dating over three years ago, that Valeria had to have a private conversation with one of Bella’s professors that made an…indecent proposition to her during office hours.

Valeria did what anyone would, and should, do. Report it, and get him fired.

And she possibly also played a part in scarring him for life by going to his office hours and handing in an unsolicited report on the torture techniques of the Ryu. Her family specialty.

When Bella asked what she did to him, she simply said: “What I do best - use my God-given powers of persuasion.”

Her thin pink lips were upturned into her usual devilish smirk, with two of her fangs slightly cast out and showing over her bottom lip. Nothing was quite as striking as her eyes though. They were large and amber-colored with her right eye, along with a large part of the right side of her face and neck, bearing a large blue-colored tattoo inscribing her mark as a head of the Ryu clan.

Even for those who didn’t recognize the mark, her cat-like claws and cold, protective aura always left an impression of fear to those around her, in the rare event her mouth wasn’t enough.

“Would you mind switching seats with her? We like to stay close,” Bella asked politely.

The male student stood up and apologized profusely as he moved quickly to the back to hide from the whole class’s line of sight. A few chuckles and whispers were heard around the room.

Valeria laughed and sat down. “What an idiot. How are you _babe_?” she asked with a sarcastic smile.

“Gross,” Bella teased and kissed her. “Much better now that you’re here.”

“I do have that effect on people,” Valeria mused taking her laptop out of her bag.“How did the first-day drop off go?”

“Fine so far. No car accidents. No explosions yet.”

“Good good. No alarms either. Any hacking?”

“Well,” Bella remembered the map Becca had on her phone and started biting her fingernail. “I think she brought her kit and connected her phone to the tv monitors in the hall when I was talking to a few kids I TAed over the summer…”

Valeria froze. “She WHAT? She could get expelled for that!”

“Relax, I’m sure it’s fine,” Bella answered, still biting her nail. “Her phone encrypts all of her data so they wouldn’t be able to tie it to her even if they did find out.”

Valeria groaned. “That’s also _so_ illegal and literally the opposite of comforting…”

“I have something that may cheer you up,” Bella offered. “You’re coming home with us tonight for dinner.”

“Is that an order?” Valeria grinned.

“It’s a loving request,” Bella giggled and kissed her nose.

“I wouldn’t mind it if it was an order-“

“ _Ahem_.”

A short elderly woman with slicked-back white hair, large glasses and an oversized maroon dress covered in beads was standing in front of the two lovebirds. It was Professor Zarka.

“Care to share with the class?”

Bella blushed in embarrassment but Valeria only smirked. ”Oh gosh, Doctor Z. Even I’m not that bold and kinky.”

Bella kicked Valeria under the table, but she was already laughing along with a few others.

Professor Zarka humphed. “I’ll have you know that your insolence will not be tolerated this semester. You can decide now whether to behave, or leave my class once and for all.”

“Ouch. That’s a shame, because I figured you needed me and Bella to keep the average above water.”

The professor looked at her blankly and pinched the bridge of her nose. She adjusted her glasses and made her way to the podium, turning on the projector and beginning her lecture.

“No syllabus review today. You’re all seniors so you know the drill and can read it on your own time. If the University asks, we reviewed it. Understood?”

A few yawns and nods gave her as much of a response as she was going to get.

“Now let’s get started with that assignment I posted last week.”

This was her way of also doing rollcall for the class. One by one, they each gave their brief summary of history through literature in the modern era, with their choice of topic.

“Let’s start with you please, Bella.”

Bella stood up and walked to the podium to read out her summary.

“Throughout the centuries, the topic of forbidden romances have become critical and commercial successes. We have proof of past civilizations romanticizing relationships with individuals not meant to be together for economic, social, political, or other ‘first-tier’ reasons. The primary ones centered on status, race, gender, sexuality, religion. Then, when the Great Collide happened, and later when alliances began to form, a new genre was born and normalized into society: interplanetary forbidden romances. In our modern era, the value of this genre is now almost entirely obsolete, with the exception of a few factions that still want these distinctions to remain.”

Bella looked at her paper count. 100 words exactly, but she felt like she still had so much more to say.

“That…that’s it.”

“Oh? It sounded like you still had a point to make.”

“Yes, but I reached the word count, and I don’t want to take up everyone else’s time.”

“Nonsense. Finish your point and then you can sit down.”

Bella smiled and looked at Valeria. “The genre is sure to evolve over the course of our era as intersectional accounts of love become the new normal. One thing is certain: the future of literature, including the interplanetary romance genre, is a reflection of the society it takes place in. This means that we must expect the unexpected. Just as our ancestors couldn’t foresee the world we are in today, we will likely be blind to the changes of the future until they are at our doorstep.”

Meanwhile, on another end of campus, Becca was finally standing in front of her classroom door. A few distractions derailed her from making it there in a timely manner.

She took a deep breath and walked in…only to find everyone already seated. She gulped.

“H-hellooo, I’m Becca! Nice to -“

The amount of eyes fixed on her left her eerily uncomfortable and sweating through her freshly pressed shirt. The students murmured and the professor stopped speaking abruptly. She looked around to see a number of empty seats throughout the amphitheater.

“Ahh I’m sorry! Don’t mind me, I’ll just sneak on by -“ she said with a forced laugh as she walked sideways like a crab across the edge of the room and up the stairs.

“You must be…Miss Smellie?” the professor asked checking a list on his tablet.

A couple of the students chuckled. Becca winced.

“Yes…”

“Good to have you join us, Rebecca. Please take a seat anywhere you’d like.”

Looking down at the floor, she gave a little sigh. “It’s Becca,” she whispered to herself.

With a deep breath, she stood tall and took flight, hopping up the stairs two by two. She then quietly went up and around the top of the stairs in the lecture hall and took an empty seat at the end of the large room, where she took out her recorder and started to whisper into it.

The bird’s eye view of the back of the amphitheater room allowed her to watch everything and everyone from a perfect angle. She recounted the details of the professor’s speech patterns, expressions, movements, and the summary of what he said every couple of minutes. This was interspaced with sporadic observations of her classmates, where she spared no details in describing their interactions and responses to the classroom environment. Every single person in that room was given a number, designated by their seat choice.

“Fascinating. Subject 15 gives the appearance of note-taking to those located in her frontal peripheral vision, but she is actually on her laptop searching for…some sort of uncomfortable-looking bikini. Oh nope, that’s underwear. Definitely underwear.”

She zoomed out and shivered. It was way too early for that.After analyzing the whole room, realizing the lecture was something she learned over 10 years ago, and not knowing what else to do with herself, she turned on her earpiece and began listening to some of her logs from her earlier discoveries, right after saying goodbye to Bella and making it to class.

“College log day 1 continued - after some preliminary exploration, I found that the labs are located in the adjacent Staircase 6. Access is technically restricted to students year 2 and grade B or above. Number of labs counted: approximately 17. Proceeded to use the system access codes to switch my next class to Chem 300 and get by security.”

The professor continued his lecture on the challenges of renewable energy. Becca sighed and fluttered her eyes, trying to stay awake and feigning enough interest to appear polite.

“I’m sure no one will notice.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you guess who some of the characters are so far?


	4. Harprognatus Exincendia

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is a little long, but bear with me! You can't rush or shorten the process of scientific experimentation and discovery...

It was finally time for the class Becca was looking forward to the most: the Chemistry lab class she managed to hack herself into.

For this class she arrived on time, early in fact. She was the first to seat herself at one of the front lab desks. The room was divided into two, with about ten lab desks and sinks on opposite ends, a fully equipped podium, an interactive whiteboard hologram display at the front, and a large, open equipment room in the back. The equipment room was full of display cases, refrigerators, and all of the equipment imaginable needed for all variants of experiments. 

There was still about twenty minutes left until class started. Curiosity overtaking her, she hopped off of her high chair and went to the back of the room to take a look. One by one, she went through every object in the drawers and the fridge, making a log note of each item and occasionally stopping at some for a closer inspection. There was a microscope as large as her, a few in a glass case that could fit in the palm of her hand, and more normal-sized ones like the one she had at home. 

There were also vials with chemical element substances, some Earth-based and some not, all laid out in alphabetical order. Her eyes glazed over a little longer at numbers 61, 77, and 120.

She put on her special glasses with built-in camera and decided to take some pictures for future reference for her inventions, but also payed special attention to the vials and their numbers. There was a subtle clicking sound from her glasses every time she took a picture, and even though it was a bug in the wireframe she needed to reprogram, she had grown so accustomed to it that she found it soothing. 

When she turned her head she caught sight of a long table with a sheet covering a rectangular-shaped and open box. Without a second thought, she approached it. Upon removing the large sheet, a pungent smell enveloped the air. 

She turned away, held her nose, and turned back to see several dead white birds in individual ventilated chambers inside a large container. They looked perfectly normal, almost peaceful, as if they had just fallen asleep in an unfortunate location.

Their little still faces saddened Becca. 

One bird in particular, to the far lefthand side of the table, looked unlike the rest. It wasn’t white like the others, but darkly discolored and with one of its wings sticking out to the side instead of neatly tucked into its belly. Becca pressed on the chamber door and it parted the glass casing. The pungent smell remained and stuck to her clothes and hair, but she ignored it. Gently, she took the bird out and inspected it, twirling it around before placing it on the table. 

Feeling the outstretched wing between her index and thumb, she confirmed that it was broken. The discoloration showed apparent sun damage, and its missing feathers and scars, along with the broken wing, also indicated that it experienced some violent trauma.

She frowned and grew distracted thinking of what a difficult life the poor bird must have had. Not only did it look different naturally, but it was also hurt by other birds and humans alike. The thought of Emily came to mind, and she had to blink back tears to remember where she was.

For a long minute, she paced back and forth in front of the table. As much as she tried to convince herself otherwise, she felt like she had to do something for the bird. It was clear to her that it experienced such a difficult life that it felt wrong for it to be taken apart when it finally had a chance to rest. Leaving it was not an option.

The problem was that she couldn’t just take a dead bird out of the room. She still had a full day of classes left, and she recognized that people would smell dead bird on her if she carried it around in her backpack.

As she decided on her course of action, sounds came from classroom and grew louder. When she turned and ran up to the opaque windows separating the equipment room from the class, she saw that most people were seated. 

After a few panicked shrieks, she put everything back to where it was, including her bird companion. She whispered and placed it back in its mini chamber. 

“I’ll come back for you, don’t worry!”

A tightening of her pigtails and a quick eyebrow check later (nothing a dab of saliva and opposable thumbs couldn’t beautify), she walked out with confidence. Luckily, everyone was preoccupied enough chatting that they didn’t notice her coming out of the opposite end of the room. 

That is, until she sat down in front of the room, at the spot where she left her bag earlier.

The students seated to her sides stared at her since they could not recognize her from any of their previous classes. An unusual occurrence for third years, but they didn’t think too much of it. One of them, however, couldn’t ignore the smell that followed her.

“Hi!” Becca said, meeting his gaze. “I’m Becca, and today is my first day! I want to be an astrophysicist and molecular biologist. And a robotics and spatial engineer. And a zoologist. And some days a gemologist. And a cosmologist. And nuclear chemist…We have so many options!”

Her excitement was so palpable and loud that the students seated at the tables behind them turned around. The student she was addressing just stared at her blankly, doing his best not to breathe since he was convinced the smell enveloping him came from Becca’s unusually long and colored hair.

The lack of response from him was a little confusing to her. That’s when she remembered what Bella reminded her: when trying to make friends, don’t just talk about yourself. Ask them questions.

“Are you a scientist too? Do you want to be friends?” she asked excitedly.

The student couldn’t hold in his breath anymore and ran away.

With a curious look, she shrugged and assumed he had a case of food poisoning. Her thoughts wandered, and she questioned whether no one ever told him that it’s important not to mix things like dairy and meatloaf so early in the morning. Becca had to learn the hard way. After some clogged toilet troubles at home, Bella made the house a list of incompatible food combinations for their fridge screen to avoid bellyaches, titling “Bellaches” so the family wouldn’t forget.

Becca thought to take a picture of the list and give it to the student when they saw each other again in class.

In the meantime, Becca twirled in her high top seat, noticing another student at the far end of the table looking away from her. Becca called out to her.

“Hi! I’m Becca. What’s your name?”

The student looked over despite herself. “What’s that smell?”

“Huh?” Becca sniffed her shirt. “Ohhh. Don’t worry, it’s just the smell of death.” 

With horrified face, the student held her nose then took her things and switched tables. 

At that moment, a tall, dark-haired, and lanky-looking man with a thick mustache and a lab coat walked in with a brusque step. He carried a small case at his side. It was a ventilated chamber similar to the one Becca saw earlier with the birds, but much noisier.

“Alright class, settle down,” his booming voice cut through the conversations. 

The students all grew quiet and took their respective seats immediately. The professor placed the case on the opposing end of Becca’s front lab desk table, at the exact spot where the student just left.

Once the room was completely silent, he stood at the front of the classroom and rolled up his sleeves. 

“Now, that’s better. I like the silence, so while you are in my classroom, please don’t speak unless spoken to. My name is Dr. Lagarto. If I tell you that’s my name, I expect you to use that name and not some creative variant of it. I don’t give out brownie points for creativity. Creativity has no place in science, so if you want to pass this class, remember it’s 5 points less per new idea you bring to me to solve our problem sets.”

He moved away from the podium and turned on the presentation module, listing the topic they were going to cover today, the summary of the lecture, and the diagram worksheet. In large letters, it read: “Chemical reactions.”

“You’re probably in this class because you’ve heard of my amazing lectures. Not to pat myself on the back, but there’s a reason my class is full every semester, and I was given tenure at the tender age of 30. Not to bore you with my life’s story, but…I was quite the young prodigy. They had the good foresight to keep me. And I worked at my career to the bone,” he said caressing his mustache and turning his back on the students. 

It was painfully obvious to all of the students that he was talking to himself. Then again, he was known for that. The real reason people took his class was that he gave the step by step instructions on how to pass the exams and all he did was talk about himself, to himself, during the lectures. 

“Like a true hero in the name of science, I carried great responsibility on my shoulders. But I guess you can say I went from a lump of carbon to a diamond thanks to the pressure.”

He awaited the laughter, but nothing, not even so much as a chuckle. Just his crickets. Except they sounded very enlivened and were jumping to the tune of a rhythmic tap. 

When he turned around he saw Becca a few steps out of her seat. She was analyzing the movements of his crickets with big and excited eyes.

“Are these Gryllodes sigillatus?” she asked giving the case a methodical tap every three seconds. 

The professor, unable to understand what was happening, just stared at her blankly. 

“Good protein,” she said.

“What?” 

“I read that these crickets make really good protein snacks! Lots of amino acids, and very sustainable too! Countries around the world have used them as nutrients for centuries.”

The professor looked at his students in the hopes someone would have a reaction to indicate what he should do, but their stares were unhelpful. He took a deep sigh and took a few steps towards the lab desks.

“Would you grace us by taking a seat, Miss-“

“Becca!” she interrupted. “Just Becca and sure! Sorry.”

She sat back down and folded her arms across the table with a smile, not noticing everyone’s eyes fixated on her.

He cleared his throat and addressed the class. 

“So…I seem to have forgotten my place because of the interruption,” he said. “Let’s just pick it back up by having everyone find a partner and get any materials they want in the back to complete the assignment by the end of class time.”

The students looked at each other in confusion. One raised their hand.

“Um, Dr. Lagarto? What are we supposed to do?” 

The professor just pointed to the large letters broadcasted at the front of the class.

“Chemical reactions. I’m assessing the level of the class and yes, I will be judging you if you do something stupid. So pair up people, we don’t have all day.”

The students quickly rushed out of their seats, chattering and brainstorming as they got their lab coats and gathered what they wanted from the equipment room. Becca trailed behind looking for anyone that may not have a lab partner, asking around if she could join a group, but no one accepted and said they already had someone.

Within ten minutes, she was the last one left in the equipment room, and remained as everyone powered on their tablets and started gaming out what to make. 

She took a look around the room and saw that one lab coat was still unused, realizing it must have been for the student that ran off. With a little jump, she grabbed it and pulled it down, slipping it on and folding the sleeves a few times so that it fit better.

The issue of what to showcase remained . 

Most of the students took simple case studies from their last two years of classes and wanted to apply them by the book. They just needed to pick the best one.

Becca had no idea what they studied over the last two years. But, she knew she had likely studied it before then. After she analyzed the materials that were left in the back equipment room for them to take from, she surmised what the professor was probably expecting of them. With a decisive look at the treasures before her, she grabbed everything she needed and walked to her lab desk. Everyone was so preoccupied with their brainstorming, and the professor was so distracted on his podium tablet, that no one noticed she left the room and came back with some branches. She set them down on the table along with the vials of liquified chemical elements, blowtorch, heart defibrillator, and the small bird she promised to come back for. 

Some of the students began working on their experiments too. They took their vials with large pincers and tilted the drops of their chosen chemicals one by one into their test tubes, writing down the reactions in minute detail. A few released foul and toxic smells, others an unexpected fruity smell. The colors varied from pitch black to neon yellow, each respective to the elements and the worlds they derived from. 

Most of the human lab partners didn’t venture into the unknown territories of otherworldly elements, and only those who had some connection, though distant, from neighboring planets dared tinker with them. 

Like most things, humans didn’t feel the same connection to elements, creatures, and beings that originated elsewhere than Earth. They didn’t feel the same “pull,” as Valeria would describe it. 

“It’s like a magnet,” she once explained to Becca. “Everyone can see a magnet, but only some objects feel the pull to it. There are things we feel a connection to here on Earth that make everything more…warm, and familiar.”

“Is that how you feel with Bella?” Becca asked her. 

Valeria blushed and coughed into her arm to hide her face. “Yeah…something like that.”

Becca, on the other hand, didn’t notice any difference. Everything felt like a pull. The world was just one, ginormous magnet pulling her in with something new and fascinating every day.

Today was no exception. 

Becca turned on the lab desk and got right to work with a sketch of her plan. With one hand detailing the steps and materials and another using her index to paint a rough picture of her vision, she finished in no time. She placed her hands on her hips and smiled contently. 

Just as she was about to hit the enter button to submit the simulation for safety processing, she realized she was missing an essential part of the experiment: the foundation.

Wracking her brain for a solid foundation, and after a little basic research online, she discovered that the number of options at her disposal was very limited. She walked around the room to see what other students were using, then headed back into the equipment room to see if there was anything she might have missed.

No new objects were in the room that were not there earlier, but seeing the materials in use gave her a new perspective. And a solution. She took some flasks from the equipment room, put them in her backpack along with her blowtorch, then headed out. 

Dr. Lagarto noticed her leave this time, backpack in tow. “Giving up already?”

Becca turned around before stepping out. “Give up? That’s too easy! I’m just missing something, I’ll be right back.”

And with that, she was off. He shrugged and continued looking at his tablet, telling every student who came up to his desk to figure out whatever issue they were having on their own. About three quarters or more of the students had gone up to him since the start of the test. The tension in the air was palpable. The pairs could be heard disagreeing over note-taking, formulas, results, conclusions, improvements…

“Alright listen up,” he said finally looking up. He twirled his mustache between his index and thumb in an attempt to look authoritative. “I just want you to show me what you’re made of. I’m not expecting you to discover a new element, find a cure for _Corsheu,_ or breathe life into anything. I just want to see something. _Anything_.”

He gave a throaty sigh and sat back down. “If you can’t think of what to do, just use the Great Enid’s technique and do some inversions against the wall. That should help you use your heads for something useful. “

Right at that moment, Becca burst in carrying a large, open bowl made of misshaped glass, which gave the illusion that she was even smaller and more doll-like than she was. Her forehead and neck dripped in sweat and reached down her shirt. Her lab coat was tied up at the bottom and her sleeves were fully rolled up to her shoulders. If she had the hands to hold her shoes, she would have taken them off from the heat.

Everyone turned to look at her as she grunted and walked back to her lab station and placed the bowl down with a loud thud. She slouched in her chair and sighed in relief, not noticing that the entire class, and professor, were staring at her. Confused glances and whispers between the students shifted to the professor. The students came up again to ask if they were supposed to also use glass bowls instead of flasks - a question that made Dr. Lagarto twitch in anger. 

He stomped over to Becca’s table, where she was still slouched on the chair in exhaustion. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Breathing,” she responded matter-of-factly. “My oxygen intake lowered considerably as I carried that across campus.”

“And why on Earth do you need a…a punch bowl for this exam?”

Becca opened her eyes and looked at him. “Punch bowl? Did I make the wrong -“ she looked at her bowl and sighed in relief. “Oof you scared me there!”

Dr. Lagarto’s eye twitched. Becca smiled and hopped off of her high chair before putting the glass bowl at the center of her desk.

“I just had to make my foundation! Nothing a good old kiln can’t do.”

As sure as he was about hearing what she said, he was also sure he misheard her. 

“A…kiln? Like for…ceramics?”

Becca nodded. “My sister is big on hobbies. We used to make pottery when we were younger, but I never worked with glass before! It’s such a delicate and temperamental material.”

She pushed the glass bowl to the center of the lab desk, then began to assemble the branches she took earlier into different layers in a pattern resembling a repeated Fibonacci sequence to form a perfectly rounded nest. Content, she smiled and looked up to see the professor stare at her in confusion. 

“This…is not an arts and crafts class!” he yelled and pointed to the door. “If you’re mocking me leave immediately!”

“Hold on one second, this is just the foundation,” she said as she took the vials and beaker. 

With her goggles on, she made a few variations of the formula she needed using elements 61, 77, and the non-Earth element number 120, Vitanium, by putting different amounts of each into test tubes to discover the perfect combination. In one of the tubes, the liquid’s color was orange at first then it transitioned into smoke the colors of the rainbow. 

“Perfect!” she exclaimed. “And now for the test subject.”

The professor studied the substance she created and looked at the vials she chose.

“Prometheum…an extremely rare and powerful radioactive Earth element, named after the Titan that gifted us with fire. Iradium…also an Earth element, highly flammable, and made up of multi-colored compounds. But why add Vitadium? The element is as good as dead, it doesn’t react with anything.”

“I read that on Orenda, they use it as a healing property for bad injuries,” Becca turned to grab the bird. “I’m just kicking it up a notch.”

When the professor saw her take out the small chamber and the bird, he ordered her to put it back.

“What do you think you’re doing? That is not for you!” 

“You said we could take any materials we wanted.” 

She placed the bird in its nest in the middle of the glass bowl. Furious, he went in to remove it but Becca flicked his hand away. 

“I wouldn’t do that without gloves.”

Murmuring under his breath, he turned away and rushed to the back. He wasn’t supposed to interfere with the experiments, only observe, so he didn’t think to ready his equipment beforehand.

The students didn’t notice the pearls of nervous sweat dripping from his forehead, but did wonder why he stayed at the front looking at that odd girl’s experiment for so long. They gossiped about who she was, convinced she was a transfer student. Transfers were incredibly rare since Aliva was one of the most prestigious schools in the country, certainly the most reputable in the West Coast. But she didn’t act like a regular transfer student. Primarily because of her unorthodox methods.

Drawers clattered as cleaning and safety gear were thrown about the equipment room. 

Finally, in one of the last drawers where Dr. Lagarto looked, he found the gloves and goggles he was looking for. He put them on and rushed back out, only to see Becca pouring a beaker filled to the brim with a mix of the same color as the test tube he saw moments ago. 

Humming happily, Becca poured the liquid in the bowl and covered every inch of the bird, turning the white spots a deep orange color before giving it a slight rainbow tint. The nest absorbed the remainder of the liquid. She put a large amount of alcohol at the bottom between the glass bowl and the nest, then grabbed her homemade trusty glasses and a welding mask attachment accessory for her face. 

From afar, he could tell what she had in her hand was not a bunsen burner like the other students were using.

It was a full-blown blowtorch. 

“Just a head’s up to everyone,” she called out. “The simulation indicated that this will likely cause a little smoke, but it’s no reason to get in a tizzy.”

To Dr. Lagarto, the next few seconds felt like they took place in slow motion. He ran to Becca’s desk at the front of the room as fast as he could, pushing students in the aisle to get out of the way as tubes and tablets flew out of their hands on the floor, spilling the liquid all away. He slipped and fell on the floor, so he didn’t make it that much closer to her by the time she turned the blowtorch on and let the alcohol and nest burn through. 

Her experiment quickly caught on fire, and within seconds, the room was filled with smoke and the smell of cremation as the bird was consumed in flames.

“Chemistry lab log continued,” she said into her recorder. “The use of handmade glass seems to be the perfect non-flammable foundation for protection. However, the mix being used now has not been tested live before this experiment, so the likelihood of success is…approximately one in a million.”

The bird no longer looked like much of a bird, but rather a pile of bones growing darker and darker as the alcohol burned. The room grew heavier and heavier with smoke, to the point that no one could see the front of the classroom anymore. Dr. Lagarto was still on the floor. 

“The final chemical mix used included Promethium and Vitanium, with a dash of Iridium. I couldn’t find any records of this mix working, but it’s the most logical combination. The only illogical element is, well, the fire.”

She looked at her blowtorch. “If this works, it means I have to tell Bella that those mythology books she read to me really did have a scientific explanation to them!”

Dr. Lagarto crawled under the smoke and reached the lab desk where Becca was stood mesmerized as she stared at the fire. By the time he arrived everything was burnt out. Nothing was left but ash. 

He coughed loudly. Not to get her attention, but because his lungs were filled with so much smoke. 

She didn’t turn around and instead kept her eyes pressed against the glass bowl to see any possible reactions. Within seconds, Dr. Lagarto grabbed her by the arm and began to drag her out of the room

“Are you trying to kill us?? I asked for a chemical reaction, not a bomb!”

“A bomb? Well, technically a bomb _is_ a chemical reaction…”

He stuck his nose up and pursed his lips in frustration. His eye twitched again, and Becca could swear that she saw his mustache straighten and grow as limp as if it had given up on life.

“Listen,” he sighed with the palms of his hands pressed together against his mouth. “I gave very, very simple instructions. Don’t be insolent, and don’t be creative. But nooo! not only do you decide to disobey me, you also decided to make a _random_ experiment. Maybe you were trying to find out how easy it was to kill a whole classroom!”

“It’s the exact opposite!” Becca countered. “It’s not about destroying life, it’s about creating it!”

At that moment, a large screech resounded in the classroom. The students covered their ears and looked around in terror as the air was covered in a thick cloud of ash. 

A strong gust of wind swept across the room, followed by an earthquake that created a gurgling sound from the bowl on the Becca’s lab desk. A bright orange substance was discernible through the smoke and it oozed out of the small mountain of ash formed in the bowl. It hardened quickly but the smoke remained, reducing to tears the few students not wearing their protective goggles. Embers of fire jumped out like dust particles, making anything flammable that they touched in the environment ignite.

That was the last straw.

Panicked yells and a stampede of footsteps overtook the classroom. The smoke alarm and sprinkler safety system turned on too. Dr. Lagarto ordered everyone to get out, and when he turned around he lost sight of Becca. He called out into the smoke to see if anyone was still there, but there was no answer. 

Assuming she ran out with the rest of the class he left and pressed the emergency quarantine button, a precautionary measure all science labs had to secure rooms from possible cross-contamination. Once outside, Dr. Lagarto counted the number of students. 

He was missing one. And the girl with long, purple ponytails was nowhere to be found. 

Horrified, Dr. Lagarto ordered all of the students to rush to safety at the Hall immediately, then he tried to make his way back into the classroom. No matter how much he tried, the permissions were set in the system, and for safety reasons it wouldn’t let him override them. He cursed at the door and looked through its window to try and make out anything. To his relief, the smoke slowly dissipated to reveal Becca’s figure right where he suspected, at her lab desk. 

The ashes were covering her drenched white lab coat. There was a large crevice at the center of the hardened ashes in the remainder of the shattered bowl, making the contents look like a volcano standing on crystals. 

Becca’s back was turned to Dr. Lagarto so she couldn’t see him. He couldn’t see her clearly, but if he concentrated hard enough, he could hear her making little cooing noises. She removed her face wielding mask but kept her glasses on to take pictures of the experiment, including the new subject in her hands. 

Dr. Lagarto couldn’t believe his eyes. It was a fluffy baby bird. 

Across the tablet notes, Becca made a large green checkmark encapsulated in a circle and wrote at the top: Harprognatus Exincendia. 

Becca rubbed her cheek against the bird. “Ahhhhh you’re just too fluffy! I’m going to name you…Helios.”

Helios gave a little chirp and looked at Becca with sleepy eyes. She squealed and gave him a kiss on the top of his head then brushed and blew the ash off of his body. 

As the ash flew off, his wings brushed against the air and started to slowly take form. The oxygen gave them a light rainbow color, and though his feathers were small, they were perfectly shaped and looked like regular wings. The only exception was that at the tip of his wings there were little embers sparking and flying off. Becca’s gloves weren’t flammable, but she could feel the heat reaching the palms of her hands so she had to place him back on the table. 

As she did so, Helios outstretched his wings which caused sparks flare. Becca ducked on the ground as he took flight and flew around the room, dropping embers on the lab desks and the floors covered in shards and elemental fluids. The wind currents carried him through the room to a closed window beside Becca. She outstretched her arms to get him to stop and yelled at him to be careful, but he continued forward and flew straight into the secured window. The metallic safety of the window melted an turned it into lava. Helios followed the wind currents that led him away from the campus and out of Aliva. 

Becca rushed to the window and looked on in amazement. She took out her recorder once more.

“It appears the oxygenation has helped the embers on Helios’ wings turn into flames, while the flames create a current of wind that help increase his velocity and altitude to soar at incredible speeds! What a marvelous evolutionary feat…”

Before she could continue, Becca noticed a pungent smell of rotten eggs begin to waft in the air. She scrunched her nose and turned around. For a moment she wondered whether she passed gas, but then she noticed the chemical liquids on the ground were being engulfed in flames. Every little ember that slowly floated down to the ground only enhanced the flames.

Dr. Lagarto ran downstairs as fast as he could to get security. He was still shocked by what he had just witnessed. In fact, he was sure he dreamt it. A sort of fever dream from all of the smoke he inhaled. 

But he knew it wasn’t a dream. That was a phoenix. And Becca was still in there.

Eyes round in fear, Becca grabbed her belongings, unplugged the class tablet with her notes, and bolted to the door, walking around the flames as best she could. To her horror, she realized that the door was slammed shut. She looked out the window, expecting to see her classmates, or the teacher, or a passerby…anybody. But no one was there.

She looked around the room for a hiding place but knew at any moment the reaction was going to explode. She needed to think quickly. All she needed was an idea, an opening…

That’s when she saw the lava-made opening across the room. That was it! She took her lab coat and placed it over the flames to hop over, then she crouched onto the window frame that melted from Helios’ fiery escape flight. She turned her glasses onto Distance Mode so she could see the length of the drop beneath her.

60 feet, or 18 meters. Not terrible, but she did risk breaking her legs. That would be very inconvenient.

A realization hit her - she had just the invention for this occasion! She meant to test it last week but never got around to it.

The smell now grew so strong that Becca had to block her nose with her sleeve. She turned around to see the flames turning into a neon yellow color. 

With a deep breath, she took out her umbrella and readied herself. Her mind raced as she calculated whether she was high enough to get the power of its turbines working. 

She gulped and took out her recorder one last time. “Test number 1 of ‘Umbrehelli’ - I really need to think of a better name but now is not the time! If the propulsion speed hits just right, I should be fine jumping off of a six story building. If it doesn’t, I could end up like a scallion pancake. There’s a lot of shrubs down there…”

A hissing sound that reminded her of an angry tea kettle interrupted her thoughts. Her back grew sweaty, and she wasn’t sure if it was because of the stress or the flames that were not dangerously brushing up against her.

“Fortunately for me,” she said to herself and hugged her recorder with all her might. “I love pancakes!”

Closing her eyes, she jumped out with her umbrella wide open, the rotor blades inside whizzed at a violent speed as she hovered next to the window. One eye at a time, she looked down to see she was perfectly still. The relief overtook her and she positioned her body weight a little sideways to try and steer, but just as she did so, the explosion propelled her lift speed and sent her whirring higher above. 

Becca yelped and held on tight as she passed in front of the windows of some classrooms. She yelled in dismay as she glided higher and higher. A few students rubbed their eyes in confusion as they saw what they thought to be a child stuck on a drone. Most likely because of its long hair. Right as she reached the top of the building and managed to place a toe on it, there was another wind that caused her to soar downwards like a comet hitting the Earth. She pulled on the throttle so hard that it broke seconds before crashing, but it allowed her to slow down to the speed of a tennis ball hitting the court. 

Bracing for impact, she hugged her legs inane fell butt first into the shrubs underneath.

After a few seconds, her head popped up from the bushes. She and her gadgets were in one piece with the exception of the ‘Umbrehelli’, but her hair was riddled with dark green leaves. 

Scallion pancake indeed.

She shook her hair and hopped out of the bush as she rubbed her behind. She smiled and yelled into her recorder. 

“It worked!! I can’t believe it actually worked! It’s not perfect yet but wow! I’m hitting it out of the park with all of my initial tests today…”

Becca continued recounting the details of her experiments with Helios and the ‘Umbrehelli’ as she walked around campus peeling leaves out of her hair. Most people didn’t notice her severely disheveled appearance because they were too preoccupied with the explosion and subsequent fire. Within minutes, the fire brigade troops arrived to campus and were stationed throughout the area, closing off the perimeter of the staircase connection and building Becca just came from, as well as those in the environment. 

Little notification rings could be heard throughout campus. Everyone, including Becca, looked at their phones to see an Emergency Safety Order flash across their screens, requesting everyone go home immediately due to a possible terror threat.

Becca looked at the phone in disappointment when she realized this meant her afternoon classes were cancelled. 

“Aw man. I wonder why.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Eye roll* *Facepalm* *Nail-biting*
> 
> How do you think the students and professors are coping?


	5. Mission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We get a POV from our favorite emo boi now. 
> 
> Also, see if you can guess who some of these characters are inspired by with respect to She-Ra (2018).

Far away from Aliva, deep in the mountains at the outskirts of the city walls, there lived a somber alien, with a personality as dark and cold as his ruthless soul. He took no pleasure in being on Earth. It was the place in the galaxy he hated the most, and there were few places in the galaxy he had not visited through his years as a General for the Arcturium Army. For years he served as the top General for Arcturium alongside his father and held the title of Dark Overlord.

But, that was all in the past. At present, though his title remained on Earth, he could not return home until his mission was accomplished: destroy the Earthlings forever, and bring the sweet victory to Arcturium that was robbed from them almost 200 years ago.

This alien was well over six feet tall, with a skeletal frame and sharp features. An anomaly for his family, he had dark blue hair that he often shaved off to the sides, purposefully aging him to look wiser beyond his years. His face was pale, flat, and haggard, with bright red-colored eyes over pitch-black scleras and pointed ears. His lips were so thin and white that they were unnoticeable, if not for red-tinted fang-shaped teeth. This contrasted his prominent and regal cheekbones, which also made up for his lack of a human-shaped nose. He always carried himself proudly with his head held up high and his well-built chest always puffed out to indicate defiance over his existence. Not a day went by where he didn’t wear his suit of protective gear, even under his human clothing when necessary. No one on Earth ever saw him without it, not even his associates.

However, his body was not as strong as it used to be. Every day spent on Earth drained him of his strength, and his mission forbade him from returning to his family’s power source until he was successful. There were ways around this inconvenience that he used to remain alive, but they all felt like torture to him. On the one hand, he could visit his brother who was the only other alien of their race on Earth, or he could reproduce and breed more of their race to benefit from the mass resonance.

Both required contact with repulsive beings; family and Earthlings. Some days he thought his father sent him to Earth as a punishment or as some sort of a twisted lesson. He always thought there couldn’t be anything worse, but he was known to push the limits of his patience to the extreme until he cracked. The cracking point wasn’t very hard to reach; it was an eggshell type of crack on most days.

Except when it came to animals. He had the utmost patience for animals.

This alien’s name was Opaleian, and he was having a bad, bad day; because today was going to be his wedding day.

He growled and rubbed his temples with as much pressure as his bony fingers allowed.

“Once more,” he said to his associates Gai and Boye. “Repeat the plan back to me once more.”

“We go in —“

“Grab ‘er —“

“Blindfold her —“

“Tie ‘er up —“

“And return”

“We put her in the spare room, take her to you and the preacher and BOOM!”

“Wedding tiiime!”

They both imitated trumpet sounds and they jumped around in song. When they looked at Opaleain’s closed eyes and snarl, they stopped and retreated back to their briefing modes.

Gai cleared their throat and proceeded. “We best be off, my Lord.”

“Yes. Do.”

Opaleian disappeared further into the darkness of his lair as they turned to leave. Gai stopped at the door entrance. “Is there anything else you may require before the ceremony tonight?”

Opaleian’s shadow roared and tossed a large, metallic tool from his work station at Gai, who ducked it with rehearsed dexterity.

“ **PRIVACY**. Can you useless imps handle that or do I need to make myself clearer?”

The two associates fluttered off with their small wings, Gai doing so more gracefully than their counterpart. Boye wheezed as the two made it down the hall.

“Slow down!”

Gai came to a halt. “You don’t get paid to slack, darling. Whatever happened to the rigorous physical training we were supposed to maintain when we took this job?”

“I don’t get paid enough for this,” Boye huffed. “All we do is run around and do whatever chores the boss wants. One day it’s laundry, another it’s dropping off a 100kilo nuclear trojan, another it’s kidnapping a human…I can’t keep up!”

“Not with that figure,” Gai teased with a side-eye. “And you’re one to whine when I did all of the work.”

“You did not!”

Gai rubbed Boye’s bald head. “Oh, you’re right, darling. That’s why we’re such a great team. You’re the brawn and I’m the brains.”

Boye blushed despite himself. Not noticing, Gai pulled out the briefing packet and tossed it to him.

“Speaking of which, here’s your briefing. We’ve gone over everything, so if you need to read it again it would be a little pathetic, but no one will judge,” Gai said with a sarcastic chuckle. “It’s a simple extraction. I put the coordinates in the pod already, so all you need to do is get her, drop off the signed pact, bring back the copy, and we marry them. Then maybe **_finally_** he’ll stop being so moody. Ugh, it’s just too much. Between this sourpuss and the cloudy moonlight these past few days, I’m getting way more breakouts than usual.”

As Gai took out their phone and analyzed any new unwelcome bumps on his face, Boye looked at the sealed packet with his name written over the top in Gai’s handwriting. He swallowed hard.

“Are you sure you don’t want to come with me?”

Gai looked up from their phone camera. “You can’t be serious. You want me to do all of the admin _and_ babysit you? I may as well as just be the bride and make it easier on all of us.”

“You’re not human!”

Gai chuckled and looked at their nails with a mysterious smirk. “That can be arranged.”

A confused Boye teetered on whether or not to ask but pushed the question out of his head.

Both Gai and Boye were a subspecies of the planet Opaleian’s family was once from. They were small for their species size, hence the nickname “imp”, but they were average for human sizes. They had gray-blue skin, neon yellow eyes, large ears that helped them develop an uncanny sense of hearing,

Planet 2018-Fbelonged to a larger solar system that was destroyed almost 500 years ago. Since then, all of the populations of the solar system migrated to inhabit other planets around the galaxy that could fit their needs. Each planet, along with its races, subspecies and elements, required different things to stay alive and well, but Earth was the best suited to all. It was far from perfect, butit had pretty much anything Planet 2018-F’s inhabitants needed. And most inhabitants from the other planets in its vicinity. That was why, almost 200 years ago, war broke out between Earth’s inhabitants, its new members of society, and the forces that wanted to rule over their new home. Or, at least the best replacement of the home they lost.

“This is the biggest thing we’ve had to do for the boss since we got here,” Boye lamented. “Besides, don’t you want to take credit?”

“I am taking credit, I did all the heavy lifting by doing my research and finding the right fit, then locating her, tracking her down, studying her patterns, everything about her personality…”

Gai sighed. “And humans say love is easy.”

Boye’s eyes twinkled. “Do you think he’ll really like her?”

“Like her?” Gai laughed. “That’s not the point - they don’t have a single thing in common. Besides, the reason he wants her in the first place isn’t to reproduce. He wants a model to study the Earthling ‘ideal.’ We’ll just have to think of her as a pampered lab rat while she stays here.”

Gai turned and fluttered away. “I tell him time and time again that offspring may help his chances of survival, but nooo. He would rather die than listen to me talk about the birds and the bees. Such a drama queen.”

Unable to fly again due to his heavy belly, Boye followed Gai on foot as they made their way to their office quarters overlooking the Orda Co. Factory. The Orda Co. Factory was owned by Opaleian, employed two associates and over 500 robots, and was the largest weapon and technology infrastructure contractor for the Aliva government. The robots in the plant below were hard at work as their stats lit up the entire back wall of the office that was riddled with computers and disorganized wires dangling from the ceiling.

Boye didn’t understand what birds and bees had anything to do with the Master, but he chose to ignore it. He assumed the Master didn’t want to hear about it either because of that time a pigeon got in the lab and disrupted the entire workweek. The robots went berserk thinking it was an intruder.

Four days and 76 bots later, the animal was captured and peace was restored. Boye always wondered what happened to the poor pigeon… And regarding the bees, well, few aliens liked bees. As far as Earth insects go, they were almost as terrifying as mosquitoes. It’s no wonder the Master didn’t want to hear anything about them.

“Are you planning on sitting on your behind all day, or are you going to check on the progress downstairs?” Gai said and interrupted Boye’s thoughts.

Boye shook his head and ran downstairs with his safety helmet and earplugs. He took note of the work reports coming in and compiled them together before making his rounds. The machines were deafeningly loud because of the oscillator trials; due to the pressure to perfect them there was no time for maintenance. This meant the machines acted out by making it loud and well-known that they needed a break.

The time passed quickly that morning, and Gai looked at the clock a few more times before joining Boye downstairs to tell him to go. They found Boye next to one of the loudest machines testing the oscillators and told him to go. Boye just stared at Gai’s mouth and pointed to his covered ears, unable to understand a word. Gai pointed to the clock above them then made a motion to go.

“I put the roses and the pact in the backseat of the pod!” Gai yelled. “I can’t find your briefing packet, but remember that she likes to be addressed as ‘Bella.’ It’s a shorter version of her name. The Earthlings call it a nickname even if they are not called Nick.”

Everything Gai was saying was falling on deaf ears. They recognized that and proceeded to use hand signals again to explain pod, flowers, pact, sign, and go. Gai took a dark velvet pen from their pocket and wrote “Bella Smellie” on his hands. Boye blushed a little but looked away.

“You. Go. Now. Her. Bring. Here,” Gai said with exaggerated movements.

Boye nodded, and with a doubtful look back at Gai as they went about the inspection, he departed to the pod.

Meanwhile, Opaleian was trying to fix his signal system to contact his father and share the progress of the new plan with him. It wasn’t one to be proud of per se, but this way his father could see his dedication to doing anything to support the cause of Arcturium. _Anything_. Even the most base, vile thing he could think of.

He told himself every day that this plan was necessary. Unlike Gai’s jokes implied, he did not feel lonely and in need of a companion. This whole plan was for necessary scientific research. The longer he put off increasing his contact with the humans, the weaker he grew.

The signal remained unresponsive no matter how many changes in frequency he made. His breath shortened and grew heavier, so he put a cloak over himself to keep warm. He tried and tried again and again without success.

Irate, Opaleian slammed the tools against the wall and they went flying around his lair. He dropped his hands against the lab table to prop himself up so he wouldn’t fall.

“I need one energy enhancement. Just one to surpass this damned atmospheric threshold…”

Suddenly the ground beneath him shook and the tools on his lab table danced before they fell to the ground. He had felt a smaller earthquake a little earlier, but nothing like this. This quake was causing the lights above him to flicker and come dangerously close to falling. Stumbling, he made his way to the window and saw a point in the city of Aliva up in smoke.

“Idiots,” Opaleian groaned.

A few seconds later, he heard transmission noises from his signal machine. He ran to it and began to input the coded information necessary to make it through the Arcturium barrier. The call rang for a few minutes, but no one responded. After a few more minutes, he gave up and contented himself by dispatching his memo through.

_Earthlings continue their war in the North. Leeavan continues to deepen his relations with them, discusses peace treaty in private. No new findings on power source. Have resolved to find a way to enter into increased contact with the Earthlings. Respond at earliest convenience for details regarding plan, and approval._

With a last look at the memo, he sent it through. Opaleian stood up and cracked his neck, then approached the window to gain a better view of the smoke-show. When he asked for energy enhancement, that wasn’t exactly what he had in mind, but he wasn’t going to complain

“Big explosion, huh?”

Opaleian turned to see Gai leaning on the door entrance.

He humphed and went back to his lab table, pretending to tinker with his signal machine. “Humans destroy everything they touch. I would not be surprised if they destroyed Aliva by the year’s end given their patterns of behavior.”

“The year’s end? What an optimist you are,” Gai teased and approached Opaleian. “At this rate by next week you’ll be telling me you want a bride.”

The metal tool between Opaleian’s fingers cracked in two. Gai took a step back and retreated to professional mode.

“I’m just checking to make sure you don’t need anything from me.”

“I have said countless times that I am fine,” he gritted his teeth. “Go and proceed with the extraction while I ready myself for this evening.”

“Oh that’s taken care of,” Gai said matter-of-factly. Opaleian’s ears shot up.

“Sh-she’s here?”

Gai laughed. “No no you eager beaver, later tonight. Boye is handling that.”

“You sent Boye on his own?” Opaleian growled. “You’re more dim-witted than I thought.”

“Oh come come now, Boye can take care of the dirty details by himself. Besides, I don’t have time to micromanage. I have all the grand event planning details to take care of for the… _wedding_.”

Gai lingered a little longer on that last word, reveling at the discomfort that radiated from Opaleian. Victories were hard to come by, but even little ones like these made it worthwhile. Meanwhile, Boye had arrived at Household 1740, Villeneuve Street, and was lingering in the pod as he awaited a moment to strike. The body heat index instrument Gai left for him in the pod indicated that there were 3.5 Earthlings inside, and a creature, but couldn’t make out which one was his target.

Speaking of that…who was his target? The thought occurred to him that he hadn’t read the briefing yet.

No matter, that’s what this staging time was for. He leaned over to the back of the pod and tapped around for a folder. Nothing. He lowered himself and tapped underneath him. Nothing.

With a cold sweat, he swiveled his head around and saw that he brought the flowers, the pact, but not the briefing packet. In a frenzy, he jumped into the back and looked through every little corner and crevice in the desperate hope that it was somewhere there.

He found nothing and sat with his head hanging in his hands in frustration. As he slid his hands down he looked at his palms and grinned when he saw the ink of the target’s name. The first name was a little smudged, but it was clearly there! Or clear enough, at least.

Now all he needed to do was wait for the opportunity to strike. He busied himself people-watching the Earthlings that walked by the neighborhood. A few aliens could be seen as well, but this neighborhood was almost entirely made up of Earthlings. This gave him a rare opportunity to observe them up close; the Master forbade trips into Aliva unless absolutely necessary.

For the most part, Boye thought that they all looked very similar. Some had different colored skin and hair, but they all had the same energy coursing through their veins. How lucky they must be, he thought, to not have to depend on a single source for survival.

From the corner of his eye, he saw one Earthling approach that looked very much unlike the others. Even unlike the few aliens that were in the surrounding area. She had long, _long_ purple hair tied up in pigtails, clothes as dirty as a furnace, and the brightest grin he ever saw. Given how much her appearance starkly contrasted with the rest of the neighborhood, he assumed she was just passing through. To his great surprise, she headed right into Household 1740, Villeneuve Street.

“Is that you…” Boye muttered as he looked at his hand, then at the house. “Becca?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have any questions about the worldbuilding so far, drop 'em below!


	6. Home Planet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More characters and backstory! See if you can start to piece it together!

Earlier that day after Professor Zarka’s class, Bella stayed behind to go over some of her experiences being a summer TA for the class; the professor asked her if she could help some students that needed tutoring this semester too.

Money wasn’t as tight as it was over the summer when they needed to put a down payment on Becca’s application, but she wasn’t going to turn down anything that could help pay the bills, so she happily accepted.

“I’m sure you’ll find these lazy students to be enough of a challenge for you to sink your teeth into,” the professor said.

Bella smiled uncomfortably. “I’m sure they just have some personal situations keeping them back. I don’t believe anyone is truly lazy, maybe just unable or unmotivated to perform.”

The professor shrugged. “Not my problem, frankly. That’s why I make it yours,” she said tapping Bella’s nose playfully. “Speaking of problems, how is that troublesome sister of yours?”

“No trouble on the horizon,” Bella smiled in reassurance.

“Really?” Professor Zarka asked, unconvinced. “What a shame. I was so looking forward to an early release today.”

Zarka laughed as Bella gave an uncomfortably polite smile.

“Um, I should be off. I’ll talk to you a little later Professor.”

As Bella walked out, she bumped into a figure standing outside the room. Bella looked up to see Valeria and grinned.

“What are you doing here? I told you to go ahead without me.”

“Psh. If you think I’m not sticking by my girlfriend like a remora to a shark on the days we have all of our classes together, I’m going to have to take you to Becca and have her check your head.”

“I feel like you’re more of a shark than me,” Becca teased and poked Valeria’s fangs. “Or a bat.”

They walked down the rotunda and stopped to grab drinks from the vending machines. Valeria bought Bella her favorite chocolate marble soda and got a tomato juice for herself. Bella poked the marble out and it fizzed slowly into the soda, then took a big gulp. 

“Look, we’ve discussed this. If you have a vampire fetish, we can play around with that. But I don’t do blood. That shit’s gross.”

Bella choked a bit and laughed so hard she started to tear up a little. Valeria smiled, happy to see her so relaxed.

“Come on, I know I’m hilarious but it wasn’t _that_ funny,” she chugged her can of juice.

“No, no it’s just,” Bella said as she caught her breath. “I can’t get over how they made you a head of your family, the scariest clan of warriors on Earth for centuries, when you can’t stand the sight of blood. If people knew how you dealt with it, do you think they would say anything?”

“Meh. I couldn’t care less,” she said. “Getting used to human blood is pretty easy. You guys bleed all the damn time.”

“We do not!”

“Honey,” Valeria said tapping Bella’s body parts one by one. “Your nose bleeds whenever you get embarrassed, your fingers are so delicate you get paper cuts whenever you handle Zarka’s paperwork, the beds of your nails bleed when you get nervous and pick at them, your hand and feet blisters bleed when you’ve played too much tennis, and your knees scrape easily.”

Bella blushed as Valeria whispered in her ear. Bella braced herself for an embarrassing flirtation. Valeria savored the blushing, but instead said: “And you bleed for a full week a month religiously.”

She kissed Bella’s cheek and ran up the Staircase to their classroom as Bella ran after her.

“Why are you like this?!”

“You know you love me!” Valeria yelled as she crashed into the classroom.

They found two front seats and sat down giggling. The class was pretty packed, with a most students chatting and on their laptops in the nearby rows above. One of them appeared to be napping, and rested her head between her crossed arms on the table. Her large curls flowed over her arms and onto the desk.

“Is that Eve?” Bella asked.

Valeria turned around and nodded. “Yeah it definitely is. Hey Eve! Eve!”

The sleeping figure didn’t move, but they heard her groan loudly.

“I guess some people never get enough sleep over break,” Valeria chuckled.

“Do you think her powers are running low? Should we get her some food?” Bella asked preoccupied.

“Relax, she’s fine. It’s not like she needs them, and I’m sure she has some fish snacks in her bag,” Valeria said. “Oh speaking of food, what was that you said about dinner tonight?”

Bella smirked. Of course Valeria remembered that. If there was one way to grab her attention it was always through food.

“The chef requires the guests to bring their own ingredients,” Bella giggled. “Anything they want will be prepared with love so they can eat their fill.”

“That can be arranged,” Valeria said taking her index finger under Bella’s chin and moving it closer. “But I don’t need any ingredients to eat my fill. I just need the chef…”

She placed a kiss on Bella’s open mouth, moving her hand over her face and pulling her in even closer.

Valeria suddenly felt something hit her head lightly and bounce into Bella’s lap. Bella opened it, and inside it held a stick-figure cartoon picture of them with a bed in the middle and a large red heart drawn over it.

The two looked behind them and saw Evian giving them a peace sign with her elbow resting on the table as her head still rested on her arm.

“Eve, what the fuck?” Valeria said crumpling the paper and throwing it at her with full force, hitting her on the head and bouncing off. Evian groaned and looked up.

“Some of us are trying to nap, and we don’t need to hear your lovemaking when we’re drifting into REM mode. I like keeping my dreams love free and single, please and thank you.”

Valeria’s ears perked downwards in embarrassment. Bella laughed and kissed her flushed girlfriend on the cheek just as the professor walked in.

“Good morning everyone, let’s get ready to have a great new school year with great new logs. For those of you that may be lost or confused more than usual today, this is Intercultural Epics 400. Let’s get into groups of five or six to discuss the latest tales from the ISS’s Adventure Logs that were published over the weekend. Same as every year, I trust you have all read them, but if not get into groups with people who have. We will have a discussion afterward.”

Bella and Valeria walked further up in the classroom and sat on either side of Evian. She was wearing a teal, sleeveless shirt and matching long shorts with a big golden buckle. A long golden chain with a compass pendant dangled from her neck, and matching golden hoop earrings hung from her human-shaped ears. The bright colors contrasted nicely with her dark brown skin tone, but the reason she wore so much gold was that she just couldn’t resist shiny objects. She wore large sneakers that gave her webbed feet the arch support needed to walk on land easily, and a large blue puffy jacket with reverse insulation to keep her body temperature even year-round. Unless her skin touched water, her body didn’t transform into her mermaid form. This turned situations like walking around lawns with sprinklers into real adventures.

“Hey princess, rise and shine.”

Evian finally looked up in annoyance when Valeria poked her with her index claw. Her brown eyes glared at Valeria as she felt her cheek being prodded, a pair of bedazzled scissors twirling around her index finger as she stared her down.

“Poke me one more time and I’ll cut your nails.”

Valeria laughed at the threat, but when she saw the glint in Evian’s eyes and the poker face as she twirled the scissors around, ears spiked up in alert. Without breaking eye contact, she shifted her seat back to distance herself. It was just a precautionary measure, there was no way she, Valeria Ryubridge, would be scared of a hot mess like Evian. She just couldn’t risk anything happening to her claws; they were a sacred part of the Ryu’s fighting prowess. And Valeria found them to be surprisingly useful for her mating purposes too.

Bella chuckled as she looked around the room for any other familiar faces, then spotted Tobias and Zathrian chatting across the room. She waved them over to join their group. Tobias waved back with a grin, and Zathrian gave her a little wave and his charming smile. They finished up their conversation with some other students then gathered their things and walked around the room. 

Zathrian had a tall, strong build with broad shoulders, a thin waist and prominent hips that he always accentuated with tight-fitting pants, along with rolled-up long-sleeve shirt, jacket vest, and a bow-tie that matched his daily mood. Today it was bright orange. His hair was as bright blond and resplendent as the sun, and his eyebrows were upturned and a dyed brown to offset his light-colored irises that were almost invisible to the naked eye. His skin was dark, with numerous markings on his forearms that shone a luminous purple when he used his powers. 

Zathrian and his family were old friends of the Smellies. Maurice was best friends with Zathrian’s mother, Rioxius. They were placed in the same trainee cohort at their position department of Health and Human Services upon their arrival at Aliva, and were inseparable ever since. They lived on the same side of town, and were regulars at the Aliva League - an exclusive, members-only association where the most elite Alivians could wine, dine, and have a good time. When the girls were in their early tweens, Maurice joined through Rioxius’s membership after much insistence from her and Zathrian that said all of the children wanted Bella to join. Zathrian, like the budding political attaché he was taught to be, gave an earnest discourse about the benefits the connections would have on Bella’s future and education. Not one to argue, and seeing no harm in it, Maurice agreed. Since then, the family regularly went to the League on weekends. Bella and Zathrian would play tennis and ride horses, and Becca would usually politely get asked to leave after trespassing in every possible place she could trespass. From the vents to the boiler rooms, she had seen it all. In the end, she found her nook in the stables with a tiny horse and her portable video game system. Valeria occasionally joined the family, though she wasn’t fond of horses, tennis, or social elites. Or of Zathrian for that matter. She knew Rioxius wanted her son and Bella to marry for many reasons, and that it was no coincidence she made sure they spent time together every weekend.

Jealousy can do many things to a woman in love. Insecurities are natural, and not feeling great is a part of life. However, new to love and seeing a worthy rival in her alien enemy, Valeria dealt with the feelings the best way she knew how to: a duel to the _death_. Needless to say, their tennis match duel was one for the ages; the match ended after six straight hours of non-stop volleying when Valeria whacked the tennis ball so hard that the seams of the ball ripped and hit Zathrian flat in the face.

Tobias, on the other hand, was a human just like Bella. He always had a large smile on his face, and was one of the friendliest people in the school despite his eccentricities of breaking into song and dance at the mere mention of a word that reminded him of something lyrical. With dark hair, light brown skin and a slim yet strong build from all his years of working on ships, he was one of the handsomest human young men on campus. He wore the same simple blue pants and white shirt every day, and tied his long black hair into the same bun. The only thing he took extra care of was making sure his facial hair was impeccable. He never left the house without a perfect mustache and soul patch. There was one instance where he did so by accident, but he proceeded to ‘borrow’ Evian’s backpack to place over his head and run home at the speed of human lightning. Evian was not pleased, but seeing him run into a tree because he couldn’t see where he was going was enough reason to let it slide.

Tobias’ family were simple folk from the Southern part of city, and lived off of the sea as best as they could, traveling and exploring the oceans for months at a time sometimes just to make ends meet. He had eleven older siblings, none of whom ever had the opportunity like he did to go to University, though he never expected to either. His plans were never to go to University, or even live in Aliva, until he met a certain young mermaid by chance.

“Did you read the Logs this week?” Evian asked Bella as she took out her waterproof tablet.

“Yes! They were so cool! They’re definitely on the right trajectory if they found recent relics of 2018-F, but I’m so worried about them…I mean, what if the black hole is still there?” Bella asked.

“It definitely is,” Valeria answered coolly. “They’re all idiots. There’s no point in risking lives to look for something that’s gone.”

Evian and Bella remained quiet. After a few moments, Evian looped her foot around Valeria’s chair and spun her towards them with a smirk.

“Did you get your weird karate stick stuck up your ass again, Val?” Evian smirked.

Valeria kicked Evian’s foot away and looked at them, a twinge of sadness in her frustrated eyes.

“Look, I just think it’s stupid to go out looking for something we know isn’t there. They’re chasing a fairy tale. We’re not going to find any of our home planets, and the longer people keep wishing we could go back to a time when things were ‘perfect,’ the longer it’s going to take for people to just accept everything great we have going on here on Earth.”

Bella gave her a reassuring smile. “Maybe, but you and Eve and even Zath have the ability to stay healthy here on Earth. Some others don’t have that luxury. Earth wasn’t the best fit for them, and they haven’t been able to get over that.”

“There’s plenty of things they could do if they wanted to stay strong. And besides, that’s not the problem,” she refuted, her frustration growing. “The problem is they want to find those planets to get in touch with their raw powers. Whatever level they get here on Earth isn’t good enough. It’ll never be good enough! They want more and more and more and it’s just going to drive them into this _crazy_ search until they find the sources and use them to their advantage and forget about the science and just use the powers and us as some _sadistic_ weapons to conquer Earth and maybe destroy it forever!”

Valeria panted and noticed most people in the class staring at her. Her ears dropped when she saw Bella’s concerned face from behind Evian, but the uncomfortable situation only lasted a moment. She suddenly felt a pair of large arms wrap around her shoulders and pick her up like a rag doll.

“Cheer up Val! Being a pessimist is so _passé_ ,” she heard the person grabbing her yell. She could tell by the mustache tickling her earlobe that it was Tobias.

“Toby, how many times have I told you not to pick me up?”

“I just can’t help it! You’re so cute when you’re upset,” he said setting her down as her claws dug into his arms. “Ow ow watch it! But never as cute as my princess of the sea!”

He gave Evian a big hug from behind, but she slipped out from under his arms and sunk under the table.

“Personal space until noon,” she reminded him.

Valeria smiled, happy that the stares weren’t directed at her anymore. She couldn’t help getting irritated whenever people talked about the great Adventure Logs from the International Space Station’s Exploration Mission. She had enough having to hear about it once a week every week for as long as she could remember, and in this case for this pre-requisite class. Plus, hearing her friends gush about the Log Master’s updates was exhausting. Especially her human friends. They could never understand the gravity of the Mission since they didn’t understand or feel what it was like to have powers. But even her friends that did understand never thought it was anything of concern.

Valeria was half human; her mother was the head of the Ryu clan in their hemisphere, and they were an unsurpassed force to be reckoned with. She commanded respect, fear, and awe with every action and decision, and she taught Valeria to be no different than her. With unsurpassed physical skills, courage, and pride, the women of the clan were unmatched. Valeria’s father on the other hand was the polar opposite of her mother. He was a shy academic human with a thirst for knowledge, acute asthma, and the patience of a saint. While Valeria’s mother taught her the skills she needed to impress her clan folk, her father taught her the history of the clan, and of the Great Collide.

“Many different people came to Earth during the time of the Great Collide,” Valeria recalled her father Jonathan explaining to her during one of their many weekend history lessons when she was younger. “Your great, great grandmother and the Ryu folk that survived banded together to form a clan when they arrived on Earth. There are documents showing the agreements they made to stay within their kin, and set aside their differences until they found land on Earth to inhabit. The problem was that when they arrived, they realized that there weren’t any empty land masses to populate. And like them, most of the people from the planets that came during that time faced the same problem…”

“Dad, I know this,” Valeria groaned. “Skip to the good stuff!”

Her father looked at her with wide eyes and fixed his glasses. “Eh. Good stuff?”

“You know, the war! What were the fights like? What weapons did they use? Talk about what the Ryu did! I know we beat the living shit out of everyone -“

“Language Val,” Jonathan groaned and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

“- and how we always picked the winning side!”

Her father looked at her as she sat on the kitchen table, too excitable to sit still in her chair. Her eyes glowed as her imagination ran wild thinking about the stories her mother and grandmother told her on the Ryu triumphs in battle, and the heroes that were made during the time of war. Jonathan sighed and switched off the mini projector he had set up against their empty kitchen wall, then looked at Valeria.

“ Winning, huh? I guess it depends on who you ask, doesn’t it?”

“But…the humans won, didn’t they dad?”

“Yes, I guess so.”

“And the Ryu won, right?”

“Well, yes, but-“

“Then we won!” Valeria laughed.

Jonathan pat her fluffy hair and gave a her a forced smile. “Winning is reserved to those willing to pay the price, and sometimes we don’t know how much it will cost us.”

Valeria raised her eyes to the ceiling in thought. “That seems like a trap. Momma says we should always use our sixth sense and look out for traps,” she said touching her nose. “So the Ryu can’t fall for traps!”

Jonathan laughed. “That sounds right to me. But sometimes there are things we just can’t understand or predict, even with a sixth sense. That’s why I like history - you get to learn about things from the past to find solutions for the future, and not fall into the same destructive patterns of human behavior.”

“ _People_ behavior!” Valeria corrected crossing her arms. “We’re all people, dad.”

Jonathan covered his mouth. “That’s right! People behavior. I’m sorry darling,” he said with a chuckle as he kissed a squirming Valeria. “Can you forgive me?”

Valeria pierced her lips and gave him a mischievous smile. “Nothing twenty push-ups couldn’t fix.”

Jonathan rolled his eyes. “Ten?”

“Fifteen.”

“Deal.”

As her father did his mandatory push-ups, Valeria read over some summaries and looked at the illustrations her father made for her. She hated history lessons, but if they came from her father, she didn’t mind them as much.

The professor clapped his hands and reminded everyone to get to work, then sat back down at the front and started to set up the module for the discussion.

Zathrian chuckled and took Evian’s seat. “Well, while you three get kicked out of class, Bella and I are going to do some work and make good use of our tuition.”

Bella smiled and took him up on the offer. Nothing stressed her out more than not being productive. As the two continued to talk about the Logs, Valeria sneered at Zathrian in the background.

“Jealous much?” Evian joked, still under the table but now at Valeria’s feet.

“I don’t get jealous. Bella’s mine and nothing or anyone can take her from me. Not even a playboy like Zath.”

“I feel the same protective spirit towards my mystical water muse,” Tobias chimed in. “I know she is coveted by men on land and in the sea, but she will always stay true to I, her protector!”

“Okay, first of all, our ratio of saves is at like, 50 to 1 in my favor. Second of all, I’m not some weird sea treasure, I’m not 'coveted', and I’m happy as a clam on my own. Third of all, Val, you’re so jealous you look like you’re going to bite Zath’s head off. So please just go hover over Bella until you cool down. I’m not breaking up a fight between you two again. It’s way too early for that.”

“That was like one ti-”

“Hey, see this?” Evian said pointing at her expressionless face. “This is the look of someone who doesn’t want to hear it, so just go be clingy and happy.”

Valeria gave her a scowl and a light kick under the table before approaching Bella with her chair and nuzzling under her arm.

“Fine. What was so special about the logs this week?” she asked trying to mask her disinterest.

Bella smiled, then gave her a kiss and scratched her hair. “Thank you, kitten.”

“Ugh,” Valeria groaned, but the sound was close to turning into a moan as Bella kept scratching her hair just the way she liked it. “You better stop that Bells.”

“Or what?”

“Or you’re going to make me kidnap you, take you home and skip the rest of our classes today.”

Bella blushed, but as she was about to respond, their class suddenly shook with great force. Everyone looked at each other in fear and moved under the tables, but the shaking grew stronger for many seconds.

The friends all held each other's hands in a chain and waited with their eyes closed. They were used to earthquakes, but this felt like something different. It felt like they were at the center of it.


	7. Entropy

After a few more seconds, the shaking finally stopped. Aside from the panic, everything seemed like it returned to normal. Everyone stood out from under the tables and checked in with one another, then the professor told everyone to evacuate the room quickly and calmly. The students exited the classroom and headed down to the Rotunda. Valeria held onto Bella’s hand so tight Bella worried she was sensing something unusual.

“It’s okay, Val,” she reassured her. “It was just a long one. Nothing to be worried about.”

“No,” Valeria answered. “No, this one felt different. This wasn’t normal and…” she sniffed. “Why does it smell weird?”

“Oh, I do apologize,” Tobias said in the background. “My doctor told me I needed to include more fiber in my diet.”

“TMI,” Evian groaned.

“That’s not what I meant, Toby. I meant that it smells like…I don’t know. It’s weirdly familiar.”

When they all walked out to the Rotunda, they heard many people asking what was going on, but there were a few from the science studies Staircases that just arrived that seemed to have more answers. Zathrian knew a couple of students from that group through his biology classes and approached them to gather more information. Meanwhile, the buzzing from the students surrounded the friend group.

“Yeah. I heard she almost killed everyone in Chem 300…”

“I heard she took a pigeon from the dissection room and lit it on fire!”

“I heard she tried to eat Mr. Lagarto’s pet crickets…”

The group looked at Zathrian’s changing expressions as he talked with the group that came from Staircase 6. It switched from reassuring, to questioning, to surprised, to concerned within a minute. When he returned to his friends he was at a loss for words.

“What happened?” Bella asked.

“They said some new student in a class of third years blew something up so everyone evacuated, but the professor realized too late that they were still in there, so they got stuck in the room when there was this huge explosion…”

The group looked horrified.

“But they’re fine now, right?” Evian asked in concern.

Zath rubbed the back of his head. “It’s unclear. The professor stayed behind trying to overrun the safety controls and save them, but the explosion happened too quickly. I know him, his name is Dr. Lagarto. He’s over there talking to the fire troops now.”

He pointed to a disheveled, anxious-looking man with an incinerated mustache.

“I’m telling you I know what I saw! It was a phoenix! She somehow managed to make a Phoenix!”

“Right, we understand sir. Now you say you never saw this student before?”

“No.”

“And you weren’t expecting transfer students?”

“Right.”

“So it is possible that this student may have snuck in and purposefully tried to sabotage, or kill, others in your classroom?”

“I…suppose it’s possible, but—”

“Very well, we have no more questions at this time, sir. Please stay nearby and let us know before you leave the premises.”

“Wait! You don’t understand—“

Dr. Lagarto chased after them into the crowd and disappeared from the friends’ line of sight. While this was happening, Bella tried calling Becca but it went straight to her voicemail, as it always did. Just as she was about to try again, she and all of the students and faculty in the Rotunda received an Emergency Safety Order on their devices requesting that everyone go home immediately due to a possible terror threat.

“I told you something felt different,” Valeria said with a serious expression and took Bella’s hand. “Come on, I’ll take you home.”

“I need to get Becca…”

“It’s safer if you tell Becca to meet you at home and have her take the car. I can drive us to your place and we’ll meet her there, okay?”

Bella nodded and they departed after saying goodbye to everyone. In the car, Valeria could tell that Bella’s nerves were out of control because she couldn’t stop biting her fingernail.

“Hey, if you’re hungry we can pick something up. No need to resort to cannibalism.”

“Val what if she’s not at home? What if she got hurt in the explosion? That Staircase is where her classes were!”

“You heard Zath, Bells. It was a class of third years. And everyone made it out fine.”

“Yeah but…you don’t think the coincidence is a bit much? It’s Becca’s first day and we have to evacuate the campus?”

Valeria shifted uncomfortably in her seat. “Don’t worry, I’m sure she’s fine.”

The drive was spent in silence, but Valeria kept one of her hands on Bella’s. As they pulled into the driveway, they saw Maurice park on the front street next to a pod.

“Girls! Thank God you’re alright. I got here as fast as I -“ he looked inside the car. “Where’s Becca?”

“They told us to evacuate so I brought Bella home, Becca will come soon with the car,” Valeria interjected before Bella could say anything. “Let’s go inside, she’ll be here soon, don’t worry.”

They sat down at the kitchen table. Bella told her father what they learned from Zathrian, while their father noted that they didn’t have any information on a terror attack in his office.

“Val, would you mind turning on the news?”

Valeria got up and turned on the touch panel to broadcast the news under the table. She took the opportunity that she was standing to make some hot cocoa for Bella and Maurice, their favorite. As soon as they began to drink it, their moods and expressions lightened up. Valeria smirked.

Like father like daughter.

She walked around the first floor of the house and stopped outside the window, noticing that the pod that was parked at the other side of the street in front of their house seemed to have someone inside. It was a different alien race than the ones Valeria usually saw in Aliva, so she wondered if they were lost. That would be unusual, she thought, given that a pod like that was likely to have an advanced geo-spatial positioning system. Her ears twitched and the hair at the back of her neck stood upright. She placed her hand at the back of her neck to calm her senses, but couldn’t shake the earlier feeling that something felt off.

At that moment, she saw Becca pull up to park further down the road and walk over to the house.

And she looked terrible.

“What. The actual. Living Hells,” Valeria muttered from behind the window as she stared at Becca’s ripped overalls, ash-covered blouse and face, and leaf-riddled messy pigtails.

Maurice and Bella turned to see Valeria’s stunned face before they saw Bella walk in.

“Hiii! Everyone’s here!”

“Becca!” Maurice and Bella both exclaimed and went to hug her. They squished her so tightly she couldn’t raise her arms to hug them back.

“Are you okay? What happened to you?”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Can’t. Breathe.”

Bella and Maurice let go of her and finally took a step back to see the messy state she was in. Not noticing their shocked faces, she smiled and began to recount the tale of her day.

“I’m fine! In fact, I’m better than fine!” she said excitedly as she walked into the living room and jumped on the couch in excitement. “You’re never going to believe what happened! It all happened so fast! I mean, oh man! Where do I start!”

She held her head in elation to keep herself from squealing maniacally.

“Okay okay, so I made a huge scientific breakthrough. And I know it’s going to be hard to believe, but, I was able to reproduce the theory of the use of disturbances in the pattern and flow of Ether by bending quantum particles at will. In this case, as my readings suggested, Vitanium is a key ingredient to counteract the quantum balance and use it for other purposes, such as reanimation. And it worked!”

She jumped up and down on the couch then plopped into it and squealed into a pillow. “It worked on the first try too, that never happens!” 

“Poppet, slow down,” Maurice said moving the pillow away from her face. “What are you talking about?”

“I think,” Val interjected, a look of hidden concern obvious on her face. “What your dad is trying to ask is what this experiment was, exactly.”

“Ohh right right. Reincarnation.”

“WHAT?!” the three exclaimed.

“Yeah, and technically rebirth too, but I don’t want to test that theory out yet. Oh, that reminds me, I need to find Helios…”

“Bec, who is Helios? And don’t tell me you- you caused that explosion…”

“Which one? One was technically Helios but that was more of a smoke show, he’s a bit of a show-off and wanted everyone to notice his big birth. Kind of like a birthday party with a lot of candles and no cake. Oh, we should make him a cake when I find him…But yes and then the other one was a tad more confusing since it wasn’t in the simulation, so I’m not exactly sure what happened. My theory is that the embers from Helios’ feathers made the chemicals that fell on the ground catch fire, and some were a teeny bit flammable. And explosive…”

At that moment, Bella received a call; she checked the ID. “It’s Zarka, I’m going to take this.”

Bella walked into the kitchen as Maurice and Val continued to ask Becca clarifying questions. Bella walked into a corner and laid her head against the wall. “Hi, Professor? Is everything alright?”

“Yes Bella, I just wanted to check and see if you were away from campus.”

“Yes, thank you for calling, you didn’t have to -“

“And to let you know to be on the lookout for a call from the Dean.”

Bella frowned. “Why would he call me? Did I do something wrong?”

“Not you dear, but we both know that this explosion wasn’t the product of nature, but madness. And there’s only one student I can think of that could manage to make such an…impact, on their first day.”

Another call was sent through to Bella’s phone at that moment, requesting a video conference.

“I have to go.”

“Very well, but one thing - if you want to keep this from getting out of hand, you must make sure they don’t find out what she is capable of.”

The advice fell on a very disoriented Bella, who could only think about what the call with the Dean would mean for her and her sister’s standing at the University. Now that she was so close to graduating, and Becca was finally able to go to school, this felt unfair.

“Right, yes. Thank you Professor. I will talk to you tomorrow. Goodbye,” she hung up and took the video call. “Hello?”

Bella recognized Mrs. Perkins, the Assistant to the Dean, on the other end of the line. Her tight, fuzzy brow and slick back hair gave her an air of disinterested exasperation as she stared at a separate screen, reflected in her glasses.

“Is this Isabella Smellie?”

“Yes, hello Mrs. Perkins. How are -“

“I’m afraid I don’t have the time for niceties Isabella. I tried to reach your father but he wasn’t answering, and you are listed as the emergency contact for your sister anyway,” she said not looking at her. “You are being contacted because of an incident this morning that is currently under investigation, and we are fairly certain your sister was behind it. The University is cooperating with the anti-terrorism investigation officers and it seems like your sister was stuck inside the room when an explosion occurred. We are doing our best to recover any of her remains -“

“She’s here,” Bella interrupted, trying to hold back her frustration over how uncaring she sounded over Becca’s possible death. “She’s here at home. She’s safe.”

Mrs. Perkins looked at Bella. “So she was not in the room?”

“I-I’m not sure. It’s possible she was but made it out.”

“I see. Well, this changes things. I must inform you, then, that she is no longer permitted to enter the campus, as a precautionary measure for the safety of our students,” she said cooly and sent a form Bella’s way. “Please have her sign this release as part of her suspension process. The Board and Dean will evaluate her case and decide in the coming weeks whether expulsion is necessary, once the investigation is finalized.”

“Hang on! You can’t suspend her when you don’t even know what happened!”

“My hands are tied. If you have any questions or concerns, please send the Office of Administration an email detailing the issue. You can refer to case #7659.”

“But that’s not-“

“Now, as you can imagine, we have been left with a lot to handle today, so please follow proper protocol and get us that signed form back from your sister as soon as possible. Good day, Ms. Smellie.”

The call ended, but Bella wasn’t done. They couldn’t do this, not when they didn’t even know what happened. Bella looked at the simple form, it was just a release from the school for a suspension period while the investigation was underway. No details were listed.

Bella walked out of the kitchen, her usual happy aura replaced by one of sadness and concern. Valeria looked away from Becca for a moment and caught Bella’s eye, and at that moment, she felt her heart break into little fragments. She walked over to Bella and held her face in her hands.

“Honey, what happened with Zarka?”

“No, it…The Dean’s Office called me,” she showed Valeria the form. “They’re suspending Becca.”

Maurice and Becca both looked up with disbelieving faces.

“Wh-but why? I made a fantastic discovery.”

“Bec,” Bella said softly as she sat beside her on the sofa. “Were you the reason for the earthquake and the explosion?”

“I wouldn’t say ‘reason,’ since those were secondary reactions beyond my control…”

“Rebecca,” Bella said firmly. “This is serious. You could get expelled, papa could get fired, and I could get kicked out if they conduct an investigation and have the slightest suspicion you’re working on behalf of a resurgent terrorist group like Arcturium.”

“They wouldn’t go so far Bells!” Maurice interjected

Bella covered her eyes with the palms of her hands and rested her elbows on her knees.

“Papa,” Bella said. “They thought Becca was dead and they didn’t care. They just see her as an inconvenience, so we can’t assume they would be on our side.”

“She’s right,” Valeria added. “Knowing how they bend over backward for government to keep up their funding, they’re going to go along with anything. And it benefits more people to say that there was a terror threat that they nipped in the bud without casualties than to say that they got hacked by a first-year that made an experiment so… _insane_ , even they don’t want to believe it.”

Maurice sighed. “You’re right. And with the elections coming up, everyone is on edge looking for things for their platform. We can’t risk Becca becoming a household name. They’ll just villainize her.”

Becca stared at the three of them as they talked over her. She had been trying to interject for the past few minutes, but no one would listen.

“Hey hey I can just go talk to them and tell them what happened! It’s no biggie, I mean, I’m fine! Not dead, see?” she said with a grin. “It’s all just a big misunderstanding. Oh, I know! I’ll go out and find Helios, that will show them it wasn’t all for nothing.”

Becca jumped up to run out the door, but Bella beat her to it and slammed it shut. Her eyes were big and filled with anger.

“No. You’re not going anywhere.”

“But Bells, I think they just need me to prove I’m not lying -“

“Rebecca they don’t care about your science,” Bella said, her anger rising in her voice. “They don’t care! How many times did I tell you over the summer that these people weren’t like Papa and me? That you needed to tone it down just a little. That’s all I asked. But what did you go and do? You set a pigeon on fire and made the whole school evacuate.”

“I created life! Even better, life that can be reborn into new life!”

“At the expense of other’s lives!”

Becca frowned, but her body grew limp and full of sadness seeing her sister so upset.

“It’s the most breathtaking and horrific scientific achievement I have accomplished to date. I thought you would be proud-”

“Proud? Becca, you’re on track to get yourself expelled before the end of your first week! What onEarth made you think it would be a good idea to go all Dr. Frankenstein on an innocent animal?”

“First of all, the pigeon was already deceased. Second of all, the worst-case scenario was cremating it, and the best-case scenario was exactly what I predicted!”

“This? This is your best scenario? Or was it to have a mutant animal flying loose around the city?”

Bella sighed and placed the edge of her palm on her forehead. “You could have hurt someone. You don’t think about the consequences of your actions, and that’s dangerous.”

“That’s not true! Imagine what this scientific progress could mean, like reviving loved ones that shouldn’t have been lost.”

“You can’t play God and just assume that it won’t have any consequences!”

“Girls,” Maurice interrupted and walked between them. “Please. Let’s not fight when we’re on the same side.”

The two looked down and walked to separate ends of the room. Valeria put her hand on Bella’s shoulder.

“Let’s go,” Valeria said and grabbed her and Bella’s bags. “The longer we sit here the harder it’s going to be to appeal. Bella and I will go talk to the Dean.”

“Good idea,” Maurice answered. “I will go back to the office and find out everything I can about the investigation. I have a colleague in the anti-terrorism unit so maybe I could try and convince him to let me talk to his boss.”

He kissed Becca on the head and bent down to be at her level. “We’ll be back later sweetheart. Don’t worry, everything is going to be fine. I promise.”

Becca gave her best reassuring smile and nodded. “Yeah, sure,” she responded and looked at Bella. “Do you really think they would do everything you said?”

Bella sighed. “I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out,” she answered calmly. “We’ll be back later. Don’t get into any more trouble while we’re out.”

With that, the two cars sped off and went their separate ways.

Bella looked out the window of the car and wondered whether she had been too harsh on Becca. It wasn’t the first time she pulled this kind of stunt, but she never did it out of malice. She had a good heart. No one knew that more than Bella did. But sometimes it was so hard to be patient and understanding. There were days, like these, where Bella felt her reserves run low.

Valeria looped her fingers around Bella’s then kissed her hand.

“This isn’t something we weren’t expecting,” she said.

“Maybe I should have toned it down,” Bella mused as she bit her nail.

“Nothing you can do now,” Valeria answered. “And nothing a nice big plate of spaghetti and meatballs can’t fix!”

Bella chuckled. “Yeah, let’s get through this first.” 

Meanwhile, Becca looked out the window before she realized that the news broadcast from earlier was still on. Emily barked and sat at Becca’s seat with her paws on the table as she looked at the transmission. She picked Emily up and watched the broadcast.

“A 5.8 earthquake hit the city center of Aliva earlier today, followed by a terrifying explosion that rocked the University of Aliva’s main campus. Thankfully no casualties have been reported, though there is talk among students and investigative officers on the scene that this could be the work of a possible new terrorist organization, though no one has taken responsibility for the attack. Coming up next: what you need to know to stay safe from unknown threats, and could this mean a new war?”

Becca stared at the screen for another hour and absorbed all of the information they presented. She knew most everything they were saying was wrong, but she couldn’t look away and thought back to what Bella said - it didn’t matter if she told them the truth, they wouldn’t listen.

Emily barked and ran to the kitchen, hearing something at the backdoor. Becca got up to look but didn’t see anything except a squirrel. She smirked and pet Emily.

“That’s a good girl, but you know we don’t need to bark at squirrels. Unless it’s that one that I accidentally mutated and hates me. You can bark at that one.”

The day was still young, so Becca decided to pass time the best way she knew how: playing mind-numbing amounts of video games until she forgot about reality. There was no better escape in her eyes, aside from scientific experimentation of any kind. That was a path she did not want to take today, since she would likely get into more trouble if she did even the slightest experiment.

After a long hot shower, she ran down the stairs, closed her blinds, and turned on her colorful LED light lamps with different animal cartoons, then powered on her gaming console and screen. She put the sensors and homemade VR mask on her body and got ready to game harder than she ever had before.

Bella and Valeria were waiting to be received by the Dean, but even though they were the only ones, no one had come out to receive them for well over an hour.

“Bureaucratic bullshit,” Valeria groaned, her legs moving up and down as she sat.

Bella wasn’t handling her nerves much better, since the beds of her nails were at the worst they had been since the time Becca snuck into the zoo after hours to study ape and chimp behaviors.

“Alright I’m giving it 10 more minutes,” Valeria said.

Bella looked at her in confusion. “And then what? We can’t leave already.”

“Not leaving. Penciling ourselves into his schedule,” she said with her claws out.

“Valeria,” Bella whispered. “Don’t get me into more trouble than I already am!”

“Relax,” she said with a wink. “I’ve mastered the art of persuasion.”

Bella couldn’t help but give a little chuckle. Nevertheless, she couldn’t shake the feeling that there was some danger lurking ahead. She assumed that feeling was in relation to the meeting with the Dean, and everything that weighed on the decision.

There was no way she could have never known the real danger that awaited.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you're enjoying the story, don't forget to leave a comment, or better yet, favorite the chapter!


	8. Clair de Lune

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are about to get interesting with a certain winged associate.

Tensions were running high that day in Aliva, however, no one was more stressed than Boye. After realizing that the briefing packet was missing, he resorted to decide his next course of action based on a few contingency plans.

1\. Tell Gai the truth about losing the packet, get scolded, fail the mission, and have his head bit off

2\. Figure out a way to sneak back in, look for the packet, sneak back out, and then do the extraction

3\. Jump in and wing it

Given that everyone had departed House 1740 Villeneuve Street for the last hour and he was running out of time, he was more inclined to follow the third plan. The only person he didn’t see leave the house yet was the girl he noticed earlier, and he could tell by the heat ray there was at least one presence still there.

He noticed two other young girls before but saw that one was an alien, so she was certainly not the target. The other one was very…human-like. Giving him an inclination to think she may be the one. Then again, the target was supposed to be set apart from other humans since she was determined by Gai to be an ‘ideal.’ So that would mean she needed to be very different from an average human…But then what did an average human look like exactly…

These were all the questions giving Boye a severe stomach ache. He took a look inside the house again and noticed there hadn’t been any movement for some time, so he decided to start putting the plan in motion. The only way he could know for sure who Becca was, very simply, was by asking her.

Boye hopped out of the pod laying low, as he approached the back of the house. He fluttered over the fence and landed by making a little too much noise on the grass. He carefully stepped over the flower beds and approached the backdoor to bolt it shut with the small lock-gun tool, but as he did so, he saw a tiny cybernetic hot dog staring at him from the backdoor window. They locked eyes for a few uncomfortable seconds before it began to bark. He heard footsteps approaching, so he fluttered in the air with all his might and lifted himself off the ground for a few feet above the doorframe. A startled squirrel ran from the side of the windowsill to the front of the door. He heard a small female voice praise the dog and then move away.

As soon as he heard a few footsteps, he sighed in relief, and immediately belly-flopped to the ground once his wings gave in.

Boye winced and picked himself back up with a groan. Though he wasn’t expecting the mission to go smoothly, this was far from a good start. With a deep breath of resolve, he activated his wings and begun to fly around the house using his lock-gun tool on the windows. The lock-gun emanated a green goo that stuck to the openings of doors and windows that was meant to disappear within a few hours. Boye didn’t have to use it often, but when he did he had trouble concentrating when using it given its pungent mossy smell. He held his breath as much as he could while flying around and scattered the goo messily before he fell back to the ground in exhaustion.

With another deep breath, Boye stood up and walked back to the pod. He tossed the gun into the back and jumped in behind it to change into his costume. If he was going to play the part of the florist, he had to look the part. He put on a pair of overalls, a t-shirt, boots too large for his feet, a dark blue cap, and a facemask to cover his mouth and nose. His wings were hidden under the clothes but he shifted them around so they wouldn’t chaff. After pouring some of the sleeping powder on the roses and pocketing the rest, he grabbed the large flowers from the bottom of their glass vase and walked back to the house.

He kicked his leg up and tapped the doorbell with his foot and waited. After a minute or so, there was no answer. The facemask was getting hot and uncomfortable, so he did so again, and again, and again, until he heard the dog from earlier growl and bark behind the doorframe. A few light steps and a voice followed from behind. He expected a call through the door via the security camera he was standing beside at the front doorstep, but instead, the door opened wide to reveal the girl from earlier.

Stunned, Boye moved the flowers to the side to be able to see her, a little curious as to why she didn’t use the video camera. He blinked a few times to make sure he was seeing the same girl from earlier; her hair color was the same, but her hair was loose, soaking wet and looked like it was trying to mop the floor. She had a large VR headset on her head covering her forehead too, a type of headset he had never seen before. Her eyes were wide but there was no smile on her face like earlier, so she looked like more of an exhausted child. She had one of her bare feet up against the dog to hold him off from going outside, as well as a half-eaten large chocolate bar in one hand she seemed to be chewing on. She wasn’t wearing overalls like earlier, but an oversized yellow shirt with large pink letters that read ‘Cosmic Kittens.’

“Hello?” she said, smiling when she noticed the bright red roses. “Oooh pretty.”

“Y-yes, hello,” Boye said stammering as he held the roses up with one arm and free his other hand to look at his palm. “Is this—I mean, are you um, Becca?”

The letters were still smudged, but the name seemed clear enough. He peered up and felt relieved when he saw her grin, mental relief wafting through him knowing he had the right girl.

“That’s me!” she said in excitement and unexpectedly grabbed the bouquet of flowers. Boye held on to them with all his might but she pried them away from his hands.

With a wince, he braced himself for the worst, and expected her to fall to the ground as soon as she put her nose against them. To his surprise, she was completely fine, and just kept smelling them over and over again in excitement.

“These are even nicer than the ones Bella grows! Here Emily take a sniff,” she said lowering the bouquet, but Emily growled at them. “Oh come on, they don’t bite.”

Becca stuffed them in Emily’s face, and forced her to take a long whiff. Emily did so and ran back into the house. She laughed and looked at the florist standing before her with a wide smile.

“Wow! Thanks, but why did you bring me these?”

Boye was looking at a vial with a spray bottle top in confusion, and noticed to his frustration at the bottom of it that the expiration date was listed as last year. He face-palmed himself and then realized that she was staring at him with a smile. He regained his composure and decided to play it cool. He had no other option.

“Oh um…well you see, Miss. My boss is an admirer of yours,” Boye said uncomfortably. “And…why don’t we talk inside? Here let me get that for you.”

“An admirer?? Ohhhh what for? Is he a Cyblogger? I know I post a lot but I didn’t think anyone could really find out where I lived — I’m impressed! He must be a real fan! Or is he a fan of my Bot-toxers? You know I didn’t really think that idea was going to kick off but Zath did all of the marketing and trademarking for me…”

As she continued to babble, Boye took the vase of flowers from her while she led him through the front doorway. The house was small, with all of their shoes and coats neatly organized in a front mudroom that led to a small living room with a large window overlooking the street, an adjacent dining room that could hold little more than a four-seat dining room table, a small kitchen next to it that connectedto the backyard, and two staircases with one leading upstairs and one downstairs.

Boye dropped the flowers down on a coffee table next to the sofa, not really minding what she was saying as she skipped into the kitchen and started opening the cupboards.

“Do you want some hot cocoa?” she said turning on her homemade hot chocolate machine. “I have a couple of flavors to pick from: triple-decker choco cake, choco lava cake, choco peppermint bark, choco maple syrup, choco strawberries and cream, white choco, deep rainforest choco, clair de lune choco…”

Boye glanced over. “Clair de lune choco?”

“Yeah it plays Clair de Lune when it’s mixing,” she popped the powder bag into the machine and whizzed to the slow sounds of Debussy’s Clair de Lune. Becca took it out and skipped to the freezer where she grabbed a packet of frozen whipped cream dollops and placed them on top of the cocoa, then took her sprinkles jug and dusted the mug until it shone like a rainbow.

She skipped back as her hair trailed behind her, and handed the mug to Boye. He looked at it with fear, though Becca was unaware because he still had his mask on.

“Taste it!” she said and made him sit down next to her on the sofa. Legs crossed and bouquet in hand, she played with the flower petals and smelled them as she waited for him to taste the cocoa.

Boye winced and took off his mask. He took a deep breath and put the cup to his lips. He had never tasted this hot cocoa beverage before so he didn’t know what to expect, but the sweet, warm and mouth-watering creaminess made him forget where he was for a moment. He closed his eyes and imagined he felt the warmth of the moon beneath him on a perfectly clear night, the sensation he longed for the most in this world.

His daydream was interrupted by a violent fit of giggling coming from beside him. Becca was laughing into the flowers and smiling.

“These smell. So. GOOD!” she said in excitement. “Did your boss grow them? They’re just soooooo…purty, and smelly. A nice smelly.”

She giggled harder and looked at him. “That’s like me! A nice Smellie. I guess not everyone thinks that way though…” her facial expressions saddened a little, but when she looked back at the flowers her eyes brightened. “Ahhh I can’t believe I’ve just been talking this whole time! You didn’t get tell me who your boss was!”

Boye choked on the sprinkles and looked at her with a whipped cream mustache over his lip.

“Erm. He…well he’s a big fan of yours, Miss. And he would like to have you come over for a celebration we’re hosting in your honor.”

Becca jumped up on the sofa. “A party? For me?!”

“Y-yes, a sort of party…”

“Ohh that’s awesome! Let’s —“ she looked at the door grew serious. “I just remembered I can’t go today, I promised I wouldn’t get into any more trouble.”

She gave a loud yawn and sat back down with a giggle. “I never thought friends sent each other flowers. Although I guess you need to meet or talk to someone before calling them your friend, right?”

“Um, I don’t know. I don’t have a lot of friends.”

“Me neither,” Becca said as she put her headset on to hide her expression. “But that’s okay! That’s what my bots and experiments are for.”

Boye looked at her with a blank stare of surprise, but she didn’t seem to notice and just cuddled into the sofa, her VR headset covering her eyes and giving her the shade needed for a good nap.

“If you want, we can be friends…”

Within a few seconds, she dozed off to sleep snuggling the vase. Boye took it from her hands and placed it back on the coffee table. He tried lifting her up, but she was surprisingly heavy. When he finally got a good grip on her and lifted her up, ready to leave the house, he felt a strong pull at his pants leg and saw the dog from earlier gnawing and chewing as violently as it could. Boye tried to shake it off but it was persistent. He dropped Becca back on the sofa to pick up the dog, but it retaliated and bit Boye then proceeded to chase him around the room and on top of furniture, until he made a mad dash for the upstairs staircase. The dog followed him there too, and he remembers at that moment hearing from Gai after another run-in with a canine that small dogs didn’t like going stairs. Willing to try anything, Boye flew above the dog, down the stairs to the main floor, and ran down the staircase by the kitchen that led to the family’s ‘tinkerbox’ room, and then Bella’s room. As soon as she made it down, Boye closed the door behind him, only to see the strangest revelation he never expected to find in a human house.

The room he was staring at was full of mechanical parts, robots, and large data-filled screens even more technologically advanced than the ones they had at Orda Co. Boye looked around in amazement and walked around until he made it to a large opening next to the room, where the ambiance changed. There was a big bed with a messy set of sheets at the far end next to a window, and the room was riddled with Cosmic Kittens posters, e-albums from decades past, stereo systems,animal LED lights of all shapes and sizes, a huge movie collection covering the entire side wall by the bed, multiple computer screens on a desk filled with printouts of galaxies and astronomical concepts, and, to Boye’s greatest delight, the largest gaming system he had ever seen. The screen filled an entire wall and was paused as he stared at it in wonder. It was the greatest thing he had ever seen. He had heard of the game, but never dreamed he would be able to play it. It was meant to be an immersive experience unlike any other. An adventure role-playing game that allowed you to choose your fate and save the world from destruction…Ethereum Fantasy III.

He squealed in joy and raced around the room to look for a way to play. He found an extra headset and body control points under the bed, and proceeded to set up the commands with the touch panel under his feet in front of the screen. Once he set up the body control points on his arms, legs, the back of his neck, his feet and hands, he turned the headset on. The commands flashed before him in a 3D model, and he suddenly felt transported into a new world filled with magic and monsters, and an evil army seeking to conquer and destroy it forever.

Boye was so happy he felt like he was close to tears.

“I’ll just play for a few minutes,” he said to himself. “I’m running early anyways, I’m sure Gai is still setting everything up. And we also need to wait until it’s nighttime for the ceremony…”

The mentor in the game spoke to Boye. “Do you wish to know your next quest, young hero?”

Boye yelped as tears fell from his eyes. “YES! GIVE ME THE QUEST! I WAS BORN FOR THIS!”

“I like your enthusiasm, hero. Your next quest will be your greatest challenge yet…”

A little earlier, back on campus, the Dean was getting off of a video call with the Governor of Aliva. His back was dripping in sweat, and his tweed suit and tie were as disheveled as his gray hair.

“Yes sir, I will get to the bottom of this, don’t you worry.”

“You’re not meant to get to the bottom of it, Smith! Leave that to the professionals who can actually do their jobs.”

The Dean winced. “Yes sir, I will leave it to their capable hands.”

“And don’t expect this means you’re off the hook,” the Governor said. “You better still be working to keep the school’s reputation up! After this, it will be a miracle if I can convince the Board to increase your funding. I can hear the press now: ‘Fiscal corruption and mismanagement in academia: what happened to the ‘safest school on Earth?’”

“It’s nothing like that sir! Just a fluke! Happenstance! Really, I’m sure there’s nothing to be worried about.”

“I have anti-terrorism units and army forces breathing down my neck asking me if I want to take proactive action in the city streets, so don’t you tell me not to worry when you’re responsible for this!”

“That hardly seems fair sir…After all I can’t control what experiments come out of our students!”

“No, you haven’t been able to do so for years, Smith,” the Governor hissed. “And that has single-handedly led Aliva, once the greatest city for scientific innovation, to become the laughing stock year after year at ISEF! Today was just one large boom of a metaphor to denote the value of your science program. Hells, that explosion was probably the most exciting thing coming out of your damned labs in over 30 years Smith! If not the only exciting thing!”

The Dean remained quiet on the other end of the line and adjusted his tie. “You- you found it exciting?”

“Yes! I was terrible and dangerous and it’s giving me a migraine so big I could split a rock in two, but I’ll be damned if this doesn’t pique some interest in investors. If it wasn’t an terrorist threat, which I honestly doubt it is, then this is sure to get the money rolling in.”

The Dean stood up from his seat. “So what you’re saying is, if we manage to do something grand like that again, then you will offer your full support?”

“No, I did not say that, but,” the Governor said in a whisper. “If you manage to get yourself a project so ridiculous and big that it makes us fall to our knees, I know Aliva would be in awe. And with awe comes fame, power, money…”

The Dean paced back and forth around the room. As tempting as that would have been to his younger self, he felt much too old to care about any of that anymore.

“As great as that sounds, I just don’t know if we have the…ability, for that, sir,” he sighed. “And like I said, what happened today was surely just happenstance. I doubt anything of value could come out of it.”

“Let me make myself clear, Smith,” the Governor interrupted. “I am going to do my job and get to the bottom of this, and cover it up for you. In the meantime, you are going to do your job and find a way to get Aliva its reputation back and win ISEF, to show the world that Aliva really is the greatest and most scientifically advanced city in the world. Understood?”

“Yes s-“

The video call was cut off abruptly by the Governor. The Dean slouched in his seat and stared at the ceiling.

“What am I supposed to do now?” he lamented to himself. “No one cares about that damned science and engineering competition anymore anyway. It would take a miracle to get us to win…”

At that moment, he heard his door creak open, but he didn’t bother to look up. “Mrs. Perkins, I said you were free to go home now. Move all my scheduled appointments to next week.”

He heard a few footsteps approach him, and they didn’t sound like Mrs. Perkins’ heels.

“A miracle, huh?” a young female voice asked. “Those are hard to come by. But we may have a solution for you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lol sorry to end on a cliffhanger there.
> 
> Please don't forget to favorite the chapter!


	9. Agreement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Get ready for more Bella/Valera time

The Dean looked up in surprise to see Valeria and Bella.

“Who are y- Bella? What are you doing here?”

He walked over to them and gave Bella a hug.

Bella smiled. “Hi, Mr. Smith. Sorry to bug you. We couldn’t help overhear your conversation.”

“Oh that’s alright. And you know you can call me Patrick, Bella!” he said with a sigh. “Besides, it’s nothing you haven’t heard me complain to your father about in the past. How is Maurice? Haven’t seen him at the League for a few weeks now.”

“He’s been busy with work and hasn’t really had a weekend to himself for some time.”

“I see, I see. And how are you? Still number 1 in the tennis rankings?”

“You bet,” she said with a little smile.

“And um, you had a younger sister, correct? Little Becca! I remember her! My, that child could really get into some mischief. I still remember when she brought her little homemade mosquito death-ray to the annual picnic and ended up zapping up half of the poolside umbrellas” he said with a loud laugh. “That was a truly memorable picnic.”

Bella and Valeria looked at each other uncomfortably. “She’s actually the reason we’re here.”

“Oh?” he asked in confusion. “How so?”

“Well today was her first day,” Bella explained. “And it didn’t exactly go as planned.”

“Yes, well, all first-years will have a first-day worthy of the history books,” Patrick said with a sigh and fixed his hair. “But no matter, I’m sure everything will go back to normal in a day or so.”

“No, you misunderstand. Becca is the _reason_ we’re here,” Valeria clarified.

Patrick looked at her in disbelief. “Oh…no. Are you sure?”

“She told us everything,” Bella explained. “I’m surprised Mrs. Perkins didn’t tell you. She sent me the suspension notice for Becca earlier today.”

“I’ve been in my office all afternoon and haven’t talked to her. I knew a suspension had been filed but I didn’t pay attention to who it was. Oh this is not good…Maurice is going to kill me…”

Valerie rolled her eyes. “Look, I heard everything the Governor said to you from start to finish, and I have a solution that’ll benefit everyone.”

Patrick looked at her with intrigue. “I’m listening, Miss…”

“Ryubridge, Valeria,” she said curtly. “Becca’s not a threat. Or, not really. But she is the most multi-talented scientist and engineer anyone has seen for centuries. She’s a little manic, sure, but when she makes stuff and succeeds they turn out to be life-changing projects. You know what she made today? She created a phoenix. A fucking phoenix. Because she wanted to test out her theory or reincarnation using something the third-years had stored in the backroom of their science lab and a dead pigeon.”

He stared at Valeria with wide eyes then looked to Bella for any support to see if what Valeria was saying was a lie, but Bella gave no such indication and only nodded. He walked around his desk and sat back down at in his chair.

“That’s impossible.”

“Maybe, except we didn’t hear it just from her, the professor of that class was telling the investigation officers the same thing. And why would he have a reason to lie?”

“Good Lord,” he said as he wiped the sweat off of his forehead with a handkerchief.

“You need someone who can take Aliva from zero to hero. You need Becca, and she needs to stay in school. So, we propose you forego the suspension notice, and get her to represent the school for ISEF next May. That will give her two full semesters to prove herself.”

“I understand you’re trying to help, but put yourself in my place. I can’t risk putting the other students in harm’s way.”

“You can figure out a way to make some arrangements for her. Maybe she could work at night after hours when everyone is gone and do classes online. She’s a night owl anyway, right Bella?”

“I mean, it’s not ideal,” Bella answered. “But she’s been wanting to go to school ever since I can remember. Any contact is better than the home-schooling route we took with her all these years.”

“I can’t make such flexible arrangements for one student…”

“This student may be the only way for our school to stay alive,” Valeria spit back. “Grow some balls and take a risk! Becca is worth it!”

“Easy now,” Bella said petting Valeria’s hair. “Sorry, it’s been an emotional day.”

“That’s alright, I know better than to get into a fight with a Ryu,” Patrick chuckled. “I’ll accept the offer under two conditions: the arrangements for her work are made outside of school grounds, though she can use our materials as much as she pleases, and she must have an advisor that will help guide her during the work process. Knowing that a faculty member is supporting the work will give me some peace of mind.”

“Will you be able to find someone for us?” Bella asked. “You know the faculty better than anyone.”

“No, I’m sorry. I cannot be any more involved aside from giving my stamp of approval.”

“I understand,” Bella sighed. “We appreciate your help. Once we find someone, we’ll let you know.”

“And I will reverse the suspension order immediately, contingent on this agreement,” he said as he outstretched his hand. Bella looked at it for a moment before she gave it a firm shake.

“Deal!”

After a few clarifications on the agreement and next steps, Valeria and Bella walked out of the building and across campus to get back to the car.

“That went better than expected,” Valeria said. “I find it pretty funny he didn’t notice we walked in even though his door was locked.”

“Patrick has always been a little absent-minded. Who knew your nails could come in so handy.”

Valeria smirked. “They come in handy for a lot of hands-on things.”

Bella blushed nudged her in the ribs. “Okay. Now let’s see…Becca can use the same room downstairs to do all of her experimenting. It’s a little tight but she’ll have to make due. So now we just have to get someone to be her advisor. Maybe Zarka? She knows Becca…”

“Not a science professor though, and honestly I don’t want you to owe her any favors. That would be like selling your soul to the devil for a tour of Dante’s Inferno.”

“She’s not that bad!” Bella interjected. “She has her favorites but what teacher doesn’t.”

Valeria smirked. “That would be funnier if she wasn’t such an awful person to aliens like me.”

“The ones who interrupt class and love making fun of the hetero Byronic heroes?” Bella grinned.

“You read one love story you’ve pretty much read them all. Hetero Byronic heroes in particular tickle my pickle. And I hate pickles.”

“I’m pretty sure that’s not how you use that expression.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m lesbian and don’t care about appropriating frat guy slang,” she said with a wink. “I’m also pretty sure we’re not any closer to finding an advisor.”

Bella thought for a moment and ran through the mental list of any professors she had over the past few years in college that may work for this purpose. None came to mind until she remembered the most obvious choice. She pulled out her phone and dialed Zathrian, much to Valeria’s chagrin.

Zath picked up after the second ring. “What a happy surprise! How’s my belle of the ball?”

“Hi Zath!” Bella said with a big smile. She heard Valeria groan next to her ear but ignored her.

“Hey Val,” Zath said with a cheeky grin upon hearing the groan he knew too well. “What can I do for you ladies?”

“This is a really weird question, but I was hoping you may be able to do me the favor and I’ll explain everything later. Do you have the contact info for Dr. Lagarto?”

“Sure, let me send you everything I have now,” Zath answered and sent it to her at that moment. “Email, phone, and address are all included. You can tell him you’re my best friends and he’s sure to receive you. Just so you’re aware, he doesn’t have a lot of patience, but he loves science. Like, really loves science. You can convince of just about anything if you show him how it will benefit him.”

“Thanks Zath! Really appreciate it,” Bella said with a genuine smile. “I’ll call you later and explain everything. Say hi to your mom for me!”

“Will do! Bye Bella, bye Val. Have a lovely moonlit night you lovebirds!”

Valeria groaned when Bella hung up the call, and mimicked his words under her breath.

“ _Have a lovely moonlit night lovebirds…_ Ugh! He’s such a pompous ass.”

“Be nice. And he got us what we needed so let’s just be grateful,” Bella said calmly looking at the information Zathrian provided. “As much as I hate to bother Dr. Lagarto after such a rough day, I think we need to go see him in person.”

Once they got to the car and reviewed the address, Valeria revved up the engine and set in in full gear, and they departed.

Meanwhile, outside of Aliva at Orda Co., Opaleian was putting the finishing touches on one of his new energy captor spheres and set it aside for testing later that night after the ceremony. The night was going to be clear enough to gather moonlight, though the amount would not be substantial. His goal was to test its general functionality and discard it if it didn’t work right.

He looked out of his window and down at the city of Aliva as hatred boiled from his core. Just thinking about the fact he was bringing one into his refuge made him sick to his stomach. But, no matter. He would get the information he needed from her and discard her. Nothing more. Alivans merited no sympathy, and no matter how special this one may be to them, she would receive no special treatment.


	10. Mentor

The sun had gone down by the time Bella pulled up to the front of an apartment complex a way’s away from the campus. It was an older building compared to those around it, with red brick at the foundations and shuttered windows that looked freshly painted. The neighborhood was near the eastern edge of town and was closer to another University that only served alien races, though its reputation was less than ideal.

Valeria tensed up as they drove around the neighborhood, and even more so when she exited the car. Bella took her hand.

“Why are you so worked up?”

“I don’t like these kinds of places. Why is a human living around here anyway?”

“Some people just love standing out,” Bella responded with a chuckle as she rang doorbell number 8A at the front entrance.

As they waited, several groups of aliens about their ages walked by them coming to and from their campus. Bella didn’t notice them, but Valeria did. She was on high alert already, so she noticed whenever their paces slowed down by even a millisecond, and she could hear their whispers amongst one another. Especially amongst the males. Two large white aliens with red markings and large round buck-shaped heads slowed their pace considerably to stare at Bella.

“Damn look at her! Have you ever seen a human that hot?”

“Man I would kill to get between those legs.”

Valeria stood in front of Bella and hissed at them. “Wanna say that again fuckers?”

Bella turned around in surprise to see the confused male students staring at Valeria.

“What’s wrong half-blood?” the larger one asked with a smirk. “Worried she’ll leave you for a real deal like us? Tell you what, why don’t you let her come with us for a night so she can see what she’s missing? I’m not one to bet, but I’ll wager that I can show her an even better time than you.”

Valeria’s chest heaved in anger. Her hair and ears spiked, and her retracted claws began to show in their full form as she hissed and crouched down ready to attack. Bella took her wrist and tried to calm her, but she wasn’t listening.

“Val these guys aren’t worth it!”

“Stay out of this Bella. It’s not about you.”

“It is about me!” she said and walked between them. “Just relax, please.”

The guys smirked. “Aw that’s so sweet. You need your little human to fight for you.”

“Leave them alone,” a female voice called out to them. It was a female alien with three eyes and dark green skin with light-colored spots. “Don’t mess with her Dan. Don’t you see that blue mark on her face? She’s a head of the Ryu.”

“Ha! The Ryu don’t scare me. The only reason they’re so powerful is because they’re closer to the humans than us Guiles.”

Valeria gave a devilish grin and laughed. “Oh man, you’re a Guile? I knew I smelled burning shit when you walked by but I didn’t think it was because I was going to incinerate your ass.”

“You little bitch,” he said dropping his bags to the ground and cracking his neck. Horns started to sprout from the top of his head. “Winner gets to take the human home. You’re going to regret—“

Valeria didn’t wait and flung herself at him, kicking him straight in the face to render him blind as he fell to the ground. She flung herself in the air and did a backflip before jumping back to Bella’s side in a perfect landing as she steadied herself with one knee on the ground.

After a long minute, the alien called Dan groaned and stood up holding a large hand over the top of his face and eyes. “That was low even for a Ryu!”

“You’re as predictable as all the Guile I’ve fought,” Valeria said cooly. “I’m not wasting my time on you. Get lost.”

“I’m not finished!”

“You are. Did you try opening your eyes?”

He removed his hand, then placed it back on his face, then removed it again in frantic succession only to realize that it wasn’t his hand that caused the darkness before his eyes.

“You—I’m blind! You made me blind!”

“Oh shut up, it’s not permanent. Go take a nap and you’ll be better by the morning you fat baby.”

He lunged at Valeria trying to follow her scent, but Bella stopped him in his tracks as she punched him firmly between the eyes. He fell back again, to the surprise of everyone who had gathered around, and to Valeria’s surprise too.

“My tennis arm comes in handy sometimes,” she said winking at Valeria. “And I’m not some prize anyone can just take home. Now you heard her: get lost.”

The two Guile aliens retreated, cursing the girls as they walked away. The female alien from earlier stayed behind. Her face was expressionless, but Valeria could tell she didn’t pose a threat.

“I’m glad you put them in their place, but you really shouldn’t be here,” she said. “You both don’t belong here.”

“Bullshit. I belong just as much as anybody,” Valeria countered.

“No, you don’t. You’ll never understand what it’s like to be relegated to living here, or what it’s like to feel like such an outsider in your own home.”

“Trust me, I do,” Valeria said with a sigh. “We won’t stay though, I know we’re not welcome. We just need to get someone and we’ll be on our way.”

“You don’t need to explain, I just can’t risk anything happening to a Ryu’s head under my watch.”

She turned to leave and walked away before calling out to them. “My name is Kei by the way. If you need anything around here again, come look for me at the ‘Morning Drug,’ and try to avoid beating people up. The last thing we need around here are troops.”

Valeria gave her a farewell with a sign of good fortune, a gesture that surprised Kei but that she responded to the same way. The gesture consisted of bringing an arm up and resting it above her forehead with her hand in a fist and having her other resting below her chest in the same way.

The gesture was rarely used anymore, but decades ago, it was meant to symbolize balance, peace, and goodwill on equal standing.

Once Kei was out of sight, Valeria rushed back to the doorbell and pressed it over and over and over again. Fearing she would break it, Bella put her hand over her finger.

“I don’t think you need to prove anything to a doorbell.”

“What are you talking about? I’m just annoyed he isn’t answering.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

“What?”

“I think you were just itching for a good fight,” Bella said with a chuckle. “I mean things have just been too boring all summer.”

“Hey you’re the one who said boring, not me!” Valeria laughed. “Besides, don’t act like you don’t love the adrenaline rush too.”

“Yeah but I don’t beat people up playing tennis.”

“No dummy, I meant the rush you get from seeing me go feral,” she said intertwining her hand in Bella’s and continuing to ring the doorbell with her other hand. She nuzzled herself beside Bella’s ear and whispered. “Just like when we first met.”

After a few more moments, the mustachioed man they saw earlier answered through the security video camera. His hair looked like he had just been struck by lightning.

“Hello??!! Who are you? Go away! I’m not talking to any press so don’t come back!” 

Valeria and Bella looked at each other in a stupor.

“We’re not press,” Bella said. “We’re here to talk to you Dr. Lagarto, we’re students from Aliva U.”

“Student journalists! You’re even worse!” he hissed. “I said go away and leave me alone.”

“We have a proposition for you,” Valeria said. “One that could get you your phoenix.”

He ran up to the security camera and grabbed it, bringing it as close to his face as possible.

“You know about it?!” he whispered. “You believe me?!”

“Yes, we believe you,” Bella answered. “Can you please let us up so we can talk?”

“Fine,” he answered, then whispered. “You don’t have anyone following you do you?”

“What? No!” Valeria said in annoyance. “Stop being so paranoid and let us up.”

Dr. Lagarto buzzed the two in and they walked into the building. It was fitted with a long hallway and multiple activity rooms, including a large public computer area. They headed straight to the elevator and were on the eighth floor in front of apartment A before they knew it. He let them in and took a look around the hallway before closing the door.

The apartment was littered with papers as well as numerous birdcages hanging from the ceiling and habitats with lizards and bugs laying underneath. The rooms had no curtains of any kind, but they still looked unusually dark.

“Apologies for the mess, it’s not usually like this I’ve been searching through my notes for an explanation.”

“About the phoenix?”

“Well, actually I was looking for an explanation on hallucinations. I diagnosed myself with psychosis- but if _you_ saw it, that means I’m not crazy!” Dr. Lagarto laughed maniacally as he ran up to Valeria and grabbed her by the shoulders, a crazed grin spread across his face. “So you have it? Where is it?”

“Okay, first of all, personal space,” Valeria said moving away from him. “And second of all, we never said we had it, but we know how to help you find it if you want it.”

“We spoke to Dean Smith,” Bella added. “And we want you to become an advisor for Becca in order to allow her back into school. She’s been suspended because of what happened earlier in your lab.”

Dr. Lagarto looked at them, puzzled. “Becca? Who is—“ his eyes widened and fear spread across his face. “HER?! The purple-haired girl?? She was the one who blew everything up!”

“And created the phoenix,” Bella reminded him.

“Sure and that may have been fantastic but she had no sense of safety for the rest of us!”

“That’s why she needs someone as an advisor,” Valeria said curtly. “You can’t expect her to know everything from day one when she’s never been in a classroom before.”

“That’s why you’re here? You want me to be her advisor? Not my problem. Nope. No way, not doing that,” he said shaking his head and holding the front door open for them. “There’s nothing in the world you can do or say to convince me otherwise.

“Even for the phoenix?”

He winced, trying with all his might to stick by his conviction. “Y-y-yes. Nothing at all.”

“Dr. Lagarto, let me paint you a scenario, if I may?” Bella said as she closed the door gently and led him to the sofa. She gestured for Valeria to remove the papers covering it and sat him down. “I like to do this with Becca when she gets anxious. Now, get comfortable, close your eyes, and I want you to think about the situation before you.”

Dr. Lagarto looked at her uncomfortably. “If I do this will you leave?”

“Yes, I promise. Now lay your head back and close your eyes.”

He did as instructed and listened to her instructions carefully. “I want you to think about the situation before you, just the plain facts, no conjectures. Once you have that in mind I want you to take a deep breath with me, and think about the worst-case scenario.”

“I get fired, Aliva implodes, and we help precipitate the end of humanity.”

Bella smiled uncomfortably and looked at Valeria, who was too distracted looking at the lizards and the birds to pay attention to anything that was going on. She sighed.

“Okay, and now we do the opposite. What is the absolute best scenario?”

He remained quiet for a moment before answering. “I retrieve the totally real, non-hallucination phoenix to prove I’m not crazy.”

“Great, now think even bigger.”

“I…can become the most renowned scientist by molding a young creative mind to build wonders so abstract, they can solve any problem imaginable. We can be the architects of the future, and I would be the head of it! I can be the mind behind the next greatest mind the world has seen!”

He stood up and opened his eyes wide in resolve. “This worked! You have convinced me! I will become the greatest mentor on this face of our green Earth and go down in history!”

Bella looked at him pointing a finger up, not wanting to interrupt his enlightenment.

“Aaaactually that wasn’t the full exercise. We still had one more step to go-“

“Speaking of going,” Valeria interjected grabbing Bella by the hand and leading her out the door. “Now that you seem convinced, I think it’s time we go and tell the Dean and Becca the good news. Sooo we’ll see you around, Bella will be in touch, bye!”

She dragged Bella out of the apartment, down the hallway and into the elevator, as they heard Dr. Lagarto’s enthusiastic expressions of jubilation. Valeria hit the button for the main floor with her foot and groaned as the elevator took them down.

“Man that guy was weird. And you’re lucky you didn’t get to the ‘reality’ phase with step 3.”

“Now it feels disingenuous…I mean neither of those scenarios are going to happen! The whole point was to get to step 3 and show him that it wasn’t as big as he made it out to be.”

“Look, we fixed the problem. No sense worrying about it,” Valeria said as they exited the elevator.

They got into the car and proceeded to make their way back across the city. Bella called the Dean in the car and told him everything, including the confirmation from Dr. Lagarto to be Becca’s advisor. He gave his agreement and sent her a document to have Becca sign and complete, and with that, the process would be complete. She thanked the Dean profusely and sighed in relief. With one hand on the steering wheel and another entertaining their fingers, Valeria smiled seeing the wave of relaxation that hit Bella as soon as she received the document.

They drove out of the Eastern side of town, passing by numerous bars and clubs that came alive at that time of night. Bella hadn’t noticed it, but it was so late that the moon was high in the sky. It was such a clear night that Bella didn’t even notice the sun go down earlier when they were leaving campus.

“Do you want to call Becca and tell her the good news?”

“Nah she never picks up her phone.”

“Fair. We should think about picking up some dinner for everyone though.”

Bella laughed. She hadn’t even thought about food for hours, but always forgot how it was such a priority on Valeria’s mind all the time. “Alrighty then, dinner to go it is. You pick.”

“Oh no no no, I’m not playing that game. You’re the one driving, so you pick. Rules are rules. I don’t want to be stuck in the car for three hours driving around in circles.”

“That was one time!”

“Don’t care. You pick or you’ll have to deal with the worst enemy of any human or alien of any kind: a hungry girlfriend,” Valeria said with a smirk.

“What am I going to do with you?” Bella laughed.

“Love me forever?” Valeria offered with a kiss on the cheek.

Bella turned her cheek and kissed her on the lips. “Always.”

Meanwhile, the situation at House 1740 Villeneuve Street took a turn for the unexpected that moonlit evening.


	11. The Great Game Debate

Earlier that same day on the other end of the city, the orange hues of the sunset shone through the large front window of House 1740 Villeneuve Street. Becca woke up as the it was setting on Aliva and the warmth of its last rays shone over her face and legs. Her head felt heavy, but she was most confused over how hard her bed felt.

Then she remembered this wasn’t her bed.

She moved her VR headset to the top of her head and saw that she had been napping on the sofa. Emily rested beside her on the floor with her belly and legs in the air as her tongue stuck out to the side. Becca giggled and stretched, causing the little hot dog to wake up.

“I had the most bananas dream Emily! You know how Bella always tells me that I need to go out to make friends, and they won’t just show up at our door? Well I dreamt that this chubby Cupid-looking florist came and- “

Becca stopped when she moved her head and saw the vase of roses on the coffee table beside her. That’s when she realized, much to her befuddlement, that none of it was a dream. Everything was real. With a piercing squeak, she jumped out of the sofa and began to run around the house in search for any clues, calling out for ‘Chubby Cherub’ from the top of her lungs as she ran into the kitchen, outside to the backyard, upstairs, and finally downstairs to the workshop and bedroom. The noises of Ethereum Fantasy III were unmistakable as she reached the ’tinkerbox’ and saw the lights shining at the entryway of her room.

Tying her now dried hair up into her pigtails, Becca walked over with a grin plastered on her face that only grew when she saw the ‘Chubby Cherub’ jumping and fighting his foes on the large screen that covered an entire side wall of her room. She snuck around him to sit on her bed and watch the action, mimicking his movements as he swung, chopped, kicked, punched, retrieved, and more. Her excitement watching him made her eyes glow with anticipation. There was only one tiny problem.

He wasn’t very good at this game. Becca watched him for a good half-hour without saying anything, but he just couldn’t get past one point in the Maze of Miroh no matter how much he tried. And she couldn’t keep it in any longer.

When he ran into the same trick staircase and fell into a pit of lava for the fifth time, Becca made a suggestion by yelling over the game’s music: “Try using your flight gear to go up the stairs without touching anything.”

Boye, still using the VR headset and not seeing anything in his lateral angles besides stats and holograms of the Ethereum world, assumed the voice was coming from one of the characters meant to help him in his journey. He used the suggested trick and managed to get past all of the trick staircases in no time at all.

“Woohoo! I did it!”

“You did it! Good job Chubby Cherub!”

Boye’s smile turned to an expression of confusion. Chubby Cherub? He paused the game to check if there was a glitch that caused a name change for the profile he was playing under, but the name was still the same: Giz_Wizarda.

“Why’d you pause?” he heard a familiar youthful and shrill female voice say. “You weren’t doing that bad!”

Boye froze in place and slowly, oh-so-slowly, lifted the VR headset from his face to see Becca wide awake and sitting cross-legged on her bed, grinning from ear to ear as she looked at the screen then at him.

“Heya!” she exclaimed and jumped off the bed. “Need some help clearing the next level?”

As she approached, Boye grew increasingly nervous and his wings flapped under his disguise completely out his control. His mind raced as it terrified him with thoughts of her exacting her revenge on him, and what she was capable of doing to him after seeing those machines and robots in the workshop next door. With every passing thought and every little step she took, his wings fluttered more and more until they took off with him in tow.

What his little wings didn’t realize, however, was that he was still strapped to the body control points on his legs, feet, arms, hands, and even his head with the VR headset. So as his wings tried to retreat, his body jerked up and then abruptly back down to the ground, causing him to plummet so hard into the ground face and belly-first, that even Emily barked in concern.

Becca winced seeing him crash like a comet, and peered above him slowly with Emily when she noticed he wasn’t moving. She looked at her canine companion, then poked the little things on his back that caused so much trouble and squirmed under his clothes. Without a second thought, she cut little holes open in the back of his shirt to free them, making them a lot happier and at ease. The wings relaxed and fell into Boye’s back neatly, resting just as he did. Though they were probably a lot more comfortable than he was.

“I knew it! I knew his features looked familiar,” she rushed to her bad and took out her recorder before stooping next to him again. “It appears that we are witnessing the last of the species of a fallen angel. Oh! Get it, Emily? Because he fell?” Becca laughed and looked at Emily, who gave her a stern doggy look.

“Oh, right. It just reminded me of those stories Bella used to tell me,” she said regaining her composure. “Anyway, this species was documented in the ISS Log number 1203 I think. Or was it 1206…No definitely 1203. I don’t see a tail, but I could check…”

She readied her scissors again, but this time Emily barked at her to stop. “You’re right Emily! We need to check for a concussion! Oh shoot but if he’s passed out I can’t. I’ll just lay him down and make him some soup for when he wakes up. That’ll help!”

She undid Boye’s body controls and took off his headset, picked him up without breaking a sweat and placed him on her bed, then covered him with a large puffy blanket. She stretched then skipped merrily thinking about how she finally had her own guest in the house, then reached the kitchen cabinets and took out a soup pod that she placed in a big pink mug and popped into the microwave. Within a few minutes, the smell of curry and cauliflower wafted in the air and she took the mug downstairs.

Boye was still sleeping, so she left the mug on her bedside table and proceeded to play on her own. She put the controls on her body and placed her headset back over her face to check and see if she had any messages or missed calls from Bella, but since there was nothing in her notifications pane she began at the point she left off earlier before Chubby Cherub arrived.

Almost an hour later, Boye woke up to the relaxing sounds of maniacal laughs, adventure music, and battle noises. He blinked open and his head throbbed as he felt his tired yet somehow very free wings. Becca stopped the game a few minutes later and took off her headset to grab a drink. Not finding any, she grabbed the mug of soup and began to chug it, then noticed Boye was awake and groaning under the covers.

“Chubby Cherub! You’re alright! Let’s see that head,” she said pulling the covers away. Boye retreated into the many pillows but she followed into the fort. “Come on it’ll only take a second.”

“What are you doing?!” he exclaimed.

“Relax I’m just checking for a bump…you seem clear! Now,” she said sitting cross-legged in front of him on the bed. “What’s your name?”

“Huh?”

“I need to ask you some questions to test your short and long-term memory. So, what’s your name?”

Boye froze. That was rule number 1 in the Mission Rulebook! Never tell the enemy your name.

“Um. I-I can’t -” he stuttered.

“You can’t remember? Hm that’s not good…we better get you to a hospital now!”

“No no! I um…my mother told me never to tell strangers my name,” Boye lied. Gai told him that, and neither of them had mothers. Though Gai’s nitpicking was enough for a whole family’s worth.

“Oh for sure! As long as you remember it. Okay then, what day is it?”

“…Monday?”

“Yeah, good enough. Do you know where you are and why you’re here?”

_To kidnap you_ , Boye thought to himself. _And fail at it apparently._

“Just my standard flower delivery,” he responded. “Which reminds me, did you like them? Wouldn’t you like to give them another sniff?”

“Oh in a minute, I need to make sure you’re alright first.”

“I’m fi-“ Boye said as she stood on the bed and hopped behind him to study his wings. “Hey! What are you doing? You can’t just touch a guy’s wings without permission!”

“They’re fascinating though! Do they always give you this much trouble?”

Boye grew red in embarrassment and turned around to face her. “Who said they give me trouble? I’m a master at using my wings!”

“Huh. I guess the dynamics just don’t make sense. For your size, you would need wings that are twice as large and potent,” Becca mused. Her eyes shone brightly as she snapped her fingers then hopped off the bed to run into her ‘tinkerbox’ workshop.

Reluctantly, and very annoyed, Boye followed close behind her and leaned against the door entryway. “If you’re trying to call me fat or something, I get it. I get that a lot, but it’s just really frustrating when I try so hard to lose this weight and I keep getting bigger and I don’t even know why!”

“Can’t help there, I never found food or the whole looks thing to be very interesting,” Becca said as she took out a large fibrous material and began to cut it with a tabletop saw. “But I don’t think that’s your problem. You seem to have quite a bit of muscle mass, so I think you’ve just outgrown your wings.”

Boye stared at her in confusion. Outgrown his wings? That was like telling a creature they needed longer legs to hunt, or a human they needed a bigger brain. He conceded that that last idea wouldn’t be terrible, all things considered given his knowledge about humans.

“That’s crazy,” Boye said, his voice cracking. “It’s impossible.”

“If there is one thing I have learned through my research, it’s that no evolutionary feat, human or alien, is impossible. Especially when we mix up our ecosystems.”

With a couple of individual cuts, some sewed-on elastin fibers with disconnected membranes, and a soldering gun in hand to attach it to a repurposed leather belt molded into a simple backpack skeleton, she finalized her product and brought it to Boye, who looked at it blankly.

“Try it on!” she ushered.

He looked at it skeptically before taking it in his hands and holding it up. “What is it?”

“It’s an accessory! Sure your wings are awesome, but you can make them even more effective with a little extra strength boost,” she said taking the contraption and turning him around to fit them on as she stood on her tiptoes. “Your wings support and deform in response to an aerodynamic load. This can connect to the membrane of your current wings and give you a huge reinforcement in propulsion, and help minimize decay due to compressive stresses.”

Most everything she said went over Boye’s head, but he could feel something being attached and fastened to his wings in places he didn’t even know he had.

“Alrighty, all done!” she said and took a step back. “Try using them.”

She anxiously waited for Boye as he concentrated hard. He scrunched his nose and pushed as hard as he could, the felt a jolt as his wings and the ones attached that were now a part of him sprung out, flipping over some objects on a nearby table.

He closed his eyes as he heard a crashing sound, and retreated his wings, afraid to turn around. But when he looked at Becca her eyes were glowing in excitement and she was speaking into her recorder.

“My creation works!” Becca exclaimed. “Testing needs to be done to confirm aerial use, but the strength is more than fifty times the previous ability so there shouldn’t be any problems.”

“W-what??”

“We’ll worry about that later,” she dismissed. “For now, you should just relax. No more work for the rest of the day, okay? I’m sure your boss won’t mind. I can put in a good word if that’ll help!”

Boye started to sweat under his new wings. As annoyed as he had been, he had to admit that the power he felt from them was unlike anything he had felt in a very long time. These were _his_ wings. As he pondered over the concept of a new body part, he saw Becca reshuffle some of the gadgets under her large screen with the paused game. She ushered him over and plopped two pillows on the ground for them.

“Take a seat! The left one is mine,” she said. “I’ll show you how to clear the next level with the big boss. It’ll be fun!”

At this point, Boye felt like he just needed to find a way to excuse himself so he could run away from everything and everyone he knew, given the way this mission was turning out.

“I um…I didn’t really enjoy the game,” he lied. “The graphics weren’t my thing,” he lied again. He loved the graphics more than anything. They almost made him cry for Gods’ sakes.

“Well you’re not using the right headset,” she said, taking off her VR system and strapping it on Boye. He tried to interject but she was already moving him back onto the touch panel and inputting the commands for him via the 3D hologram model display.

The nerves he felt earlier were nothing compared to what he felt now that he had an audience. As he opened his eyes through the headset system she had on since they met, this strange bulky contraption he had never seen before, he realized that the Ethereum world before him looked nothing like the one he saw earlier when he played by himself.

Before he was _seeing_ the world, but now it felt like he was really inside as _a part_ of the world.

“What is this…” he said, too shocked to even pose a question.

“I made it to perfectly suit my gaming preferences! Three graphics cards, the 360-degree peripheral version to enjoy the full world experience, and an interactive sensibility with the touch body point controls. I also modified the Settings hologram to include household settings, in case I need to order food or change the temperatures around the house or anything like that.”

Boye became so enraptured over the game, he completely forgot where he was again, or that he had an audience. The two played with Boye acting out all of the action in the world as Becca sat beside him giving him pointers like a coach, and occasionally stepping in when he needed help. With all of the back and forth of the headset, they lost track of time until a moment when Boye pushed her headset away as she was handing it back to him.

“Don’t you like it?” she asked in concern.

“Are you kidding? It’s awesome! This is genius,” Boye exclaimed. “It’s the best headset I’ve ever seen. I think it easily beats any on the market right now. But…this isn’t a multiplayer game so, do you want to switch games and play something together?”

Throughout Boye’s explanation, Becca’s grin grew and grew until it spread from ear to ear. She jumped up and looked through her collection of games on the server before inputting it to go live.

“You can keep my headset, it suits you,” she said with a smile and put on the one Boye wore earlier. He glanced at her without knowing what to say, but he couldn’t help but smile too.

After a few moments of initial semi-quiet playing, they began to warm up to their roles and got more comfortable with one another, giving each other commands and cheering or making fun of one another as they progressed in the heated competition. Boye kept up with her until he took a wrong turn and his vehicle got absorbed into a black hole.

Becca laughed as she raced past him and jumped into a galaxy in overdrive mode to take the winning title, screeching in happiness before pressing the Continue button to move on to the next race.

“This is the best!” Boye exclaimed as they sped off in the next race. “I can’t think of the last time I had such a fun mission… I mean! Delivery day.”

Becca laughed maniacally as she swerved into a shortcut over a constellation of stars . “Woohoo! Yeah, this is the funnest I’ve had playing in forever! No one I’ve played before can keep up with me. Not that you’re much better, but you learn quickly!”

Boye grinned. “That’s a backhanded compliment if I’ve ever heard one.”

“I can’t hear you over me beating you again,” she exclaimed with a cheeky grin. At that moment, a notification sound echoed from Boye’s tile-shaped tracker, a staple of Orda Co. employees. When he glanced at it, he noticed it was an alert from Gai. His brows furrowed as he looked back and forth between the tile and Becca racing so happily.

“Keep your eyes on the road!” she exclaimed and motioned to him with a hand as she kept her eyes on the screen.

Boye nodded and continued to play, but he knew he couldn’t ignore the message. When they were about to cross the finish line of the race, he took advantage of the moment she was distracted and most focused to pop off the headset quickly and check the notification.

Luckily, it was just a simple question in large red letters:

**_Status update?_ **

Becca yelled in happiness as she crossed the finish line. Boye hid the tile and stared at the screen as a stream of thoughts ran through his mind, most revolving around the burning: what was he supposed to do now?

Boye cleared his throat. “I’m gonna get going.”

“What?? You can’t go yet! Just one more game?” she asked with a pout. “Pleaaaaase?”

Boye sighed and nodded, getting ready for another race until he noticed she was reshuffling her games next to the server box and took out the one they were playing.

“I thought you said one more game?”

“Yeah! But I wanted to show you this before you go,” she said proudly popping in a new game with a scribbled title over it. “I call it: Elemental Egg Hunt?”

Boye didn’t know how to react to the odd title so he just looked at Emily seated beside him, who yawned in disinterest. She had already seen this game millions of times since the start of its creation on paper and throughout the countless late nights of coding and development.

Nothing really surprised Emily anymore.

Becca plopped down on her pillow and inputted the settings from her headset, allowing the game to begin. It was an open-world game where they each played different characters. Becca was on one side of the world and Boye on another. They both ran around picking up objects in nature, frolicking in the grass, exploring caves, digging underground tunnels, swimming freely in bodies of water, and just enjoying the beauties of the simple world. The music was calm and serene, with light flute and violin instrumentals juxtaposed over nature sounds, and occasionally some angelic humming.

“Wow,” Boye said. “This is…beautiful.”

“Thanks! My sister did the music for me,” she said with a smile. “Now you need to go around the world and discover as many elements as you can.”

“You mean like, earth, wind, and fire?” Boye asked, confused.

“No silly! Chemical elements,” she said. “Every time you’re close to one your slate on your belt will beep, but you can’t gather it until you’re harnessed the right power sources to see and use it. You also have a scale on your belt you can use for atomic weights. And you’ll need to find a prism to use spectroscopy to find some of the elements…It’s like an egg hunt!” she exclaimed with a grin.

Boye was in shock. “You didn’t make all of this too, did you?”

“Of course I did,” Becca said matter-of-factly. “I’ve been researching Elements ever since I can remember, mostly using the ISS Logs and publicly sourced government data and just talking to people about what they know about their elemental connections. It’s crazy, but my theory is that there’s this power source out there that connects us all through these elements, so I wanted to make a game where we gather them all to try and find the source.”

Boye was speechless. As he ran around the world and explored the intricacies of the game, he opened the world map and admired all of its distinct geographies and almost two hundred mission points. His mind raced thinking about the game and its infinite capabilities and hours of gameplay, but then it veered into shining about the technical complexities.

This was unlike any programming he or Gai or even his boss Opaleian had done before, and it wasn’t something any of the robots at Orda Co. could do either. This was oozing with creativity and unique design thinking. Then he thought back to his wings. Something so simple yet sophisticated, and seemingly functional, that she put together for him in only a few minutes. And then the VR headset! The tool that allowed him to immerse himself in a world like nothing he had ever experienced before.

This was genius. Nothing but genius. That’s when he realized this was probably why she was an ideal to the humans: her power to develop anything she wanted was a tremendous risk.

Or, a tremendous asset, depending on whose side she was on.

Becca took off her headset to look at him when she noticed he was just staring blankly without making any forward progression in the game for a few minutes.

“Are you okay Chubby Cherub?”

“Yeah,” Boye said to himself as he came up with a new plan.

“So, what do you think? Do you like it?”

“Are you kidding? It’s amazing!” Boye exclaimed. “Actually. Your research reminded me of why I came. Remember my boss? Your big fan?”

“Of course!” Becca exclaimed as her eyes glittered. “You have to tell him to come over one day! Then we could all play together.”

Boye had to stifle a laugh thinking about Opaleian seated on the tiny pillows and getting beat to a pulp by Becca playing video games.

“Well you know, he’s just dying to meet you. He’s into unique creations, just like you are. And he’s been doing a lot of research on that theory too.”

Becca’s jaw dropped to the floor. “No. Way.”

“Yeah, way.”

“I need to go talk to him NOW!” she exclaimed and grabbed a pair of jeans from the side of her bed that she slipped on over her oversized t-shirt. “Let’s go! We don’t have a —“ she stopped abruptly in the doorway between her room and the ‘tinkerbox.’

Boye approached her slowly, unsure why her mood seemed to shift. She placed the VR headset over her face and laughed into it, turning back to plop on the pillow.

“I forgot I can’t leave,” she said. “Maybe another time.”

“Now hold on,” Boye said in confusion. “What do you mean you can’t leave?”

“Well…do you remember that explosion a little earlier today?”

Boye nodded.

“That was a bi-product of an experiment I conducted at my school earlier.”

Boye continued to nod, but when the realization hit him his eyes expanded to twice their size.

“WHAT?!”

Becca went on to explain everything that happened in painstaking detail. The experiment, the aftershock, Helios, getting locked in the room, the explosion, her escape…everything. Then she told him about the call her sister received and her immediate expulsion.

“So they kicked you out without even letting you tell your side of the story?”

“Exactly! It’s so unfair,” she pouted. “And they didn’t care about Helios! Or.”

She paused and turned her focus to the game again.

“Or you,” Boye said. Becca remained quiet, but he knew what the weight of her silence meant. After a few uncomfortable moments, she spoke while continuing to play the game.

“I think scientific experimentation is the most important thing in the world,” she said, though Boye couldn’t tell if she was speaking to him or to herself. “We can’t progress if we’re stuck playing it safe. I’m willing to risk it all in the name of science - I think most people just don’t see the real value and potential.”

He sensed a feeling churning at the pit of his stomach that he hadn’t felt for others before. He grew angry at everyone and everything Becca mentioned - inexplicably so since they had just met. However, the thought of the simple reality of the situation was clear now: she had something great to offer, and the humans had no idea what they were missing out on.

And what Orda Co. could benefit from. Gai was a genius. He didn’t think they had data on her full potential, but this was sure to make the boss happy.

The cogs in Boye’s head were turning at full speed. He felt the golden opportunity hit him like a freight train chugging at full speed. He didn’t even need to do a kidnapping…at least not in the traditional sense.

“You know,” he said, putting the VR headset back on and muting the music of the game for them. “I probably shouldn’t be saying this, but my boss is looking for some new staffers. We have these really big government contracts we need to fulfill and can use any help we can get from brilliant minds like yours. That’s why he sent me here,” he lied.

Boye felt a little bad about the white lie, but after hearing her squeal of excitement under their headsets, his guilt dissipated.

“He’s been planning this…party, in your honor for a few weeks now, hoping you’ll join our team at Orda Co. You might have heard of us-“

“YOU WORK AT ORDA???” Becca exclaimed and jumped on him until they were nose-to-nose. “You mean the most technologically advanced company in all of Aliva that single-handedly put us back on the map as a city with revolutionary scientific achievements?The ones handling most of the ISS interplanetary aircraft designs? The ones designing quantum stealth??”

“How did you know about quan-“ Boye interrupted as he backed up and bit his tongue. “I mean- yeah, totally. Anyways, I think you would be the perfect fit for us,” he said earnestly and took out the folded Pact from his back pocket. “We have a strict live-in policy though. I understand you’re very young so these kinds of decisions may take some time to think about, but you’ll be able to do _everything_ you _ever_ wanted. You’ll have access to all of our research materials and facilities, you’ll learn from experts, and honestly, you could do _anything_ you wanted. You can reanimate birds all day or play video games and we would be cool with that.”

Becca stared at him with wide eyes as he held onto the Pact. “All you would have to do is sign this, and we have a contract.”

Boye stood up and faced away, pacing around her room while adopting his best professional demeanor. “Now I know it’s a big decision, and you probably have to think about it a bit. But I should let you know, my boss doesn’t really like waiting, so if you want to say no you can and no one’s feelings will get hurt,” he bluffed. “But I think you would be an ideal candidate-“

He suddenly noticed that she was no longer seated on her pillow, and all that was left in her place was a furious scribble covering the entirety of the bottom half of the Pact. Boye looked around to see her shoving clothes and drawers filled with small tech gadgets into a large suitcase he had not seen before in her room. Slowly, still processing the situation, he bent down to verify it was really signed before taking one copy for himself and leaving the other on the pillow.

By the time he stood up, she was in the doorway, suitcase in one hand, and an exhausted Emily laying in her cage in the other, yelling for him to get going as her pigtails flew around in as much excitement as she radiated. She grinned and ran up the stairs proudly, feeling like the start of something great was readying itself before her into something as grand and extraordinary as the Big Bang.

Hopefully with less explosions this time around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tbh this is probably one of my fave chapters i just love this duo


	12. Multi(pie)ing

Bella and Valeria pulled up into the multi-pie place they frequented since their early college days, called “Belzoni’s.” The restaurant was located a few blocks away from the main campus, next to the Aliva League. It was well-lit, with a large open patio area and neon signs with booths inside. The restaurant was filled with pictures from its early days, even before Integration was normalized a hundred years ago. In many ways, it was a historic site and was one of the first places to openly serve aliens and humans together through the leadership of their owner, Reverend George Lee.

The history interested some, but many just came for their famous variants of pies, including pizzas. Valeria stared at the pizzas in the display case with eager eyes and a rumbling stomach.

“Let’s get one of each,” she said with glittering eyes and drool practically falling off her tongue.

“How about we get two full ones and you pick?” Bella offered with a giggle.

They ordered and walked back to the front as they waited for their buzzer to go off. Valeria slumped in a seat by the front windows and took out her phone to play a game. Bella checked for any messages and rested her head on Valeria’s shoulder. With every minute that passed, Valeria’s legs bounced more and more in impatience. Bella looked up at her with pursed lips.

“Heading off to the races, space cowgirl?”

“No but I’m _this_ _close_ to breaking into the League and stealing a horse for a snack,” she said without a sliver of humor. Bella’s eyes widened in horror and Valeria had to poke her in the middle of her forehead to snap her out of her trance. “Joking, Bells.”

“I wouldn’t put it past you,” Bella chuckled re-positioning herself snugly on Valeria’s shoulder.

“That makes two of us,” Valeria said looking up from her phone after clearing a level and taking in the restaurant clientele. “Looks busy today. Guess everyone decided to party after the early release.”

Bella sighed. “I guess I’m glad people can rest and relax.”

“That makes one of us. Seems hypocritical if you ask me…I mean what if there really was a threat? Would people just ignore it and go on with their League shit and keep on socializing?”

“I’m sure if there was a real threat they would all come together,” Bella said with optimism. “Besides, no way we can know for sure until it really happens. No sense speaking ill of people unnecessarily, it will just stress you out.”

“I’m not bad-mouthing anyone!” Valeria retorted. “Just telling the truth.”

“Val, you’re being a lemon. If you keep being so sour all your sweetness will go away,” Bella joked kissing her cheek.

“You’re sweet enough for the both of us,” Valeria winked.

“I made that one too easy for you,” Bella said with a giggle as her cheeks flushed.

Valeria smiled and put her arm around Bella, then continued to look around the booths, only to see very familiar heads popping up from one near the patio seating area. It was a shiny young woman sipping on a soda, and mustachioed young man making overly exaggerated gestures as he spoke. Valeria grinned and stood up, taking Bella by the hand as she led her through the tables. A stunned Bella followed, and just as she was about to ask her what the meaning of this sudden movement was, she caught sight of Evian and Tobias.

“Didn’t expect to see you two here,” Bella said with a smile as they sat down to wait. Valeria cozied herself up next to Evian and gave her playful goo-goo eyes.

Evian groaned and looked at Bella, refusing to acknowledge Valeria. “Bells, no judgment…that’s a lie, maybe _a little_ judgment, but seriously why do you even keep her around? ”

“I’m so irresistible I even make the straights have a good time on date night,” Valeria laughed. “Speaking of that, isn’t date night on Fridays, Toby?” Valeria asked Tobias with a sly smile, staring straight at Evian to absorb every ounce of discomfort.

“That is correct! But my darling sea princess was famished, and I couldn’t let her go home after such a terrible day without some nourishment.”

Evian rolled her eyes and gave her usual reply. “He’s just my ride.”

Valeria took a slice of Evian’s pizza and munched on it, calmly setting herself up for her retort. She had waited to use this line for a full three days.

“Huh. I’m surprised,” Valeria smirked and chewed. “I guess I never pegged you as a bottom,”

The group remained quiet for a moment, then Bella’s eyes widened in embarrassment on her girlfriend’s behalf. She didn’t say anything and just kicked Valeria under the table. The comment still confused Tobias so he chose to ignore it and scarf down more of his quiche.

Evian, on the other hand, calmly took a sip of her soda before she spit it on Valeria with perfect precision as it hit her eyes in two strong, parallel spurts.

“OH COME ON!” Valeria exclaimed and wiped soda from her face. “That’s so gross!”

“You looked thirsty,” Evian said calmly as she sipped on her soda.

“So do you. How about I go find you a bottle of water?” Valeria hissed.

“You wouldn’t dare.”

“Try me, fishy.”

“Ooooookay now,” Tobias and Bella said together. “Why don’t we all just relax and—“

At that moment, the buzzer went off from inside Valeria’s pocket. Her eyes glowed and she ran out of the booth towards the front to pick up the food without looking back. Bella gave a relieved sigh and smiled.

“That’s my cue. I better make sure she doesn’t eat it all before we get to the car.”

“She’ll eat your firstborn if you’re not careful.”

“I don’t think they need to worry about that,” Tobias whispered. Evian hit him over the head and groaned.

“I didn’t-ugh never mind. Say hi to Becca for me, Bella! I’ll need her to stop by this weekend to help with that boat we’ve been working on.”

Bella gulped. She couldn’t tell them what happened, but she also didn’t want to risk having Becca touch anything mechanical, chemical, biological, or any form of scientific creation for at least a week until she and her father had a serious conversation with her. There probably weren’t any new techniques they could do to quell her blind enthusiasm, but they had to try something.

“Eh, right. I think we actually have a super busy weekend ahead, but maybe the next one? Oh I really ought to get going, see you both later!” she said waving goodbye as she rushed to the door.

Tobias waved back with a loud goodbye, while Evian stared at Bella disappearing into the crowd.

“That was weird,” Evian muttered. “My detective senses are tingling. I think she’s keeping something from us.”

“You are always so cunning and perceptive Eve! How do you do it?” Tobias said leaning in for a kiss. She put her drink between them and pushed him back.

“I read the room,” she said finishing her soda. “I think we should follow them.”

Tobias looked at her with a confused expression. “Follow…?”

“We won’t get to the bottom of it if we don’t take action,” she said as she swiped her payment for the meal through the table. “Something feels off. I can feel it in my gills.”

“But your gills aren’t out…”

“Don’t question a woman’s biology,” she glowered. “I paid so you drive.”

Tobias nodded and headed out to grab the car, then saw Bella drive off with Valeria in the shotgun seat as they headed home. Tobias drove up to the front only to see Evian already waiting for him. She hopped in and pointed in the direction of the main street.

“Follow that taxi!”

“What’s a taxi?” Tobias laughed. He loved it when Evian got all dramatic.

“Hell if I know. Saw it in a movie. Just drive to Bella’s, and if they’re not there we try Val’s.”

“Aye aye, cap’n!” Tobias said and sped off.

Bella and Valeria pulled up to the house within ten minutes. The convenience was unparalleled, and they liked taking full advantage of it. Bella joked many times that Valeria just started dating her because it was convenient to have a place to crash so close to campus. Valeria never confirmed nor denied the suggestion.

When they pulled up, the house was completely dark. This wasn’t unusual, given that Bella was always in the basement when she was home, and she didn’t turn on the lights anywhere else in the house to conserve the energy for her gadgets or gaming consoles. Bella opened the front door and was surprised she didn’t hear Emily bark and run up the stairs as they turned on the house lights and dropped their things in the living room and kitchen.

Bella called out for Becca to come up for dinner, but there was no answer. She sighed and assumed Becca was wearing her earpieces with her headset, thus blocking off all background noise.

“Hon, would you mind going to get her? Don’t want the food to get cold, and we have a lot to talk about before papa gets home.”

Valeria nodded, but she was too distracted with the odd smell she sensed in the house to really understand what Bella said. Her confusion heightened when she finished walking around the first floor and realized that nothing seemed amiss.

“Hon?”

She heard Bella repeat herself in mild concern.

“Yeah, sure,” she said and walked towards the basement staircase by the living room. That’s when she noticed some large roses in a vase on the coffee table, and they smelled…like sleeping powder.

“Bella cover your nose.”

“Wh-“

“Just listen to me!” she exclaimed and rushed to Bella, covering her nose with a dishcloth. “Stay right here and if you see or hear anything at all, I want you to scream as loud as you can. I’m going to find Becca.”

Bella didn’t understand what was happening, but the look of fear in Valeria’s eyes was reason enough not to fight her back. She did as told and watched anxiously as Valeria ran down the stairs. When she made it to the basement, she could tell things were not in their usual state. Drawers were upturned, parts were scattered around the floor more than usual, multiple sets of tools were missing…The workshop had been ransacked.

She rushed to Becca’s room hoping to find her there, but it was to no avail. Oddly, her clothes drawers were also disorganized and open, with shirts and pants strewn across the floor. Some of her most valuable items were gone, including her homemade nightlight, tablets, console, games, and more. Valeria looked desperately around the room to see if she may be hiding under the covers or the piles of clothes but didn’t find her. All she found was a one-page document left on her floorpillow used to play her video games.

Valeria looked at the paper in confusion at first since she did not recognize it. As she read through the top, her eyes widened in horror. She shook so hard in anger that she was seconds away from ripping the paper, but Bella’s muffled voice called out to her from above the basement stairs.

“Val?! Please tell me she’s there!”

“No…” she sighed in defeat as she walked up the stairs. She showed the document to Bella, who looked it over with confused eyes.

“Wh-what is this?”

“Call your dad right now. We need to alert the troops.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Moral of the story: never leave your younger siblings unattended.
> 
> Also that pie comes in all shapes and sizes and origins


	13. Sticky Situation

Evian and Tobias watched nervously from their car parked across the street from the Smellies’ as a series of vehicles pulled up. They slouched into the seats when they heard troops pass by, distinguishable by the loud radio chatter.

Little pearls of sweat formed on Tobias’ forehead. “This wasn’t the adventure I envisioned…”

“There is something seriously wrong going on with them, and we need to get to the bottom of it.”

“Why do **_we_** need to get to the bottom of it? Shouldn’t that be the responsibility of the troops?”

“Ugh, you’re such a buzzkill. Fine, I’ll investigate myself,” she said exiting the vehicle with a cap covering her eyes and dark-rimmed glasses.

“What are you doing with the disguise??” Tobias whispered. “No one will say anything if you just ring the doorbell!”

“Are you kidding? Have you seen the troop gang hanging around? I don’t want to deal with those bureaucrats right now, it’s way too late for that.”

“If anything it’s too early to go to jail…” he groaned and took out his disguise from the compartment in the vehicle and followed her out. “But, when the time comes I will sacrifice myself for you my prin—“

She put her hand over his mouth. “Nope. No theatrical chivalry speeches right now. We have a mission.”

They snuck around the rows of parked vehicles in the streets as they scanned the license plates for ID information in order to narrow down what kind of troops were inside. There were was one security vehicle, one for domestic investigation, and one for...intergalactic diplomats. Just like her father.

Evian pondered over what kind of problem Bella and Valeria could have possibly gotten into that the state would issue a diplomat to join an investigation. When and if they got involved in domestic affairs, it was only for life and death scenarios. She realized that since Maurice worked in government, they were probably just taking extra precautions to deal with whatever this was, but bringing an intergalactic diplomat was a risky affair. It was almost as bad as getting Aliva government involved.

This meant either one of two things in Evian’s mind:

1\. Valeria finally _did the thing_ (the group’s code word for asking Bella to carry Ryu protection, which would make her part of the clan AKA make their relationship bound for life in the clan’s eyes) but they didn’t follow protocol because it’s the dummy duo - this was likely.

2\. Valeria just did something really stupid…again. Like hiding Zathrian with a tennis ball or a pie.

The sneaky duo crouched and walked around the house, carefully making sure not to step on any of Bella’s flowers as they entered through the garden. Tobias got on all fours and shuffled through the grass as they made their way to the back door. He made a series of signal hand gestures to Evian.

“I’m right next to you!” she whispered. “Just talk!”

“They may hear us,” he said in a normal tone.

“Shhh just whisper!” she exclaimed covering his mouth. As she turned to face him, she noticed something green, gooey, and sticky at the bottom of the house’s backdoor. Evian pointed to it and they both stared for a while.

“What is that?”

“I don’t know but it looks gross. Do you have anything we could use to take a sample?”

Tobias emptied his pockets but didn’t find anything. He looked around in frustration but then his eyes lingered on something before he smiled and winked at Evian, pointing to the flowers. Evian froze in horror.

“No no no Bella’s flowers are sacred! Do you want to get us killed if she finds out?”

“I just need one little leaf,” he said, tearing one from a tulip.

Evian covered her hands with her eyes. “I can’t watch, just get it over with.”

Tobias took out his pocket knife to scrape the goo from the bottom edge of the door, then placed it in the leaf and gave it a tight fold before putting it in his pocket with a shaky hand.

“You don’t…think it’s nuclear…right?”

“Ugh don’t be so dramatic, there’s no way. Or else we’d both be dead by now,” Evian replied with a relieved sigh until she noticed a shadowy figure creeping up behind them.

“That can be arranged,” a familiar voice said.

Evian and Tobias looked at each other then turned around as slow as they could, then saw Valeria towering above them. Evian smirked.

“How’s the weather up there?” she asked with a chuckle.

“Funny. How about I give you both a little toss and you see for yourself?”

“Heeeey now,” Tobias said standing up and grabbing Evian’s hand. “We just came to see what was going on.”

“Really? In the middle of the night? Then why didn’t you just use the front door like normal people?”

Tobias opened his mouth to respond but nothing came out. Even he wasn’t sure why they were doing it the hard way.

“Troops suck, we didn’t want to deal with that,” Evian replied flatly. “Besides, it’s late, a prime time for crime. And the best detectives need to work backwards. Or backdoor-wards.”

“Yes! Precisely,” Tobias echoed with a nod. “We always prioritize backdoor entry, no matter the time of day, but especially at night!”

Evian flushed in embarrassment and groaned. “NO. Just…be quiet Toby.”

“Look, any other day I would appreciate the…effort. But Becca’s missing.”

“Again?”

“Wh-no! Not like last time! This is more serious, and I don’t have time to deal with you two,” Valeria said turning away. “We’ll see you later.”

“Hey,” Evian followed after her and grabbed her arm. “Don’t shut us out again. We’re really here to help. We found something weird at the bottom of the doorframe - not sure if it’s relevant to what’s going on…”

“Something weird?” she said and sniffed the air. A smell she had noticed earlier but didn’t pay attention to wafted around them. “Man it stinks out here.”

At that moment, Valeria’s ears twitched. She rushed into the house through the backdoor, evaporating the traces of goo on its bottom frame. Evian and Tobias followed her inside through the kitchen and into the bright and bustling living room, where they found the group of troops all gathered around Bella. Two had the dark gray suits designated for Investigations teams, while another two wore the signature cameo patterned suits for Security troops. A fifth cloaked in an unusual dark cape intently watched the street view from the large living room window.

The men ranged in ages, but they were all entranced by Bella and used the opportunity to talk to her as much as possible. They were all speaking over each other as they asked her a mix of questions, some apparently relevant to the investigation while others seemed more personal and intrusive. She looked tired, but had a faint and polite smile on her face as she answered their questions.

“How old are you? Oh and your sister too.”

“What do you, and your sister, usually do on weekends?”

“What’s your favorite kind of pie?”

“ALRIGHT! That’s enough! Shoo! Shoo,” Valeria exclaimed and swatted them away with her clawed hands. “Shame on you all! You’re supposed to help us find Becca. Save the pervy stuff for when you’re not on taxpayer time.”

“Don’t be daft. The interrogation is all part of the process, miss. We need as much information as we can gather to try and find her.”

“Great! Because we have a lot of info we can offer on BECCA. Got that? Two Cs, not two Ls.”

The group groaned. One of the older men, an alien, who was separated from the rest took out a tablet and scanned the room. He was tall with a large frame and white hair attached in a low ponytail, and red chiseled markings dispersed throughout body. The uniform he wore was unlike the gray of the Investigators or the dark green cameo of the Security team, but instead was charcoal with light silver markings under his cape.

“Do you, and those two, often come here?” he asked Valeria and pointed to Evian and Tobias who were standing in the hallway.

Bella was startled to see them, then gave a reassuring smile and motioned them to sit next to her on the sofa. They did so, and Valeria nodded in reply to the man’s question as she stood beside Bella.

“I see, then this scan will do us no good for now. I won’t be able to tell whether the patterns registered are from a known or unknown non-human body,” he tucked the tablet away under hiscape. “No matter. Security will have to do a scan of the house, and let’s have the Investigation folks ask some relevant questions. Unless they’re done wasting our time?”

Some of the men gulped while others frowned. One got up and left, while his partner stayed behind.

“Who made you the boss?” he asked. “Security’s already done a sweep and we didn’t find anything unusual. Just a lot of junk downstairs we don’t think is registered.”

“You didn’t come in with a warrant so you don’t need to worry about that. Understood?” the tall man dismissed. “Investigations, I’ll ask again: any more questions or are you done?”

The other two men nodded and gathered their things before heading out. Two of the vehicles drove away, leaving only one left. The tall man pulled up a chair and sat down in front of the friends.

“From your story, I understand that the last time you heard from your sister was when you saw her here, in this house, about twelve hours ago. Correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“And upon arriving home about an hour ago, you found a document indicating that she was being taken under the premise of Shared Livelihoods, Shared Understanding.”

“She was kidnapped,” Valeria corrected with a hiss.

“Let me see the document.”

Bella handed the crumpled document to the man. Carefully, he sniffed it, then turned it over and read it from front to back. With a finger pinching the bridge of his nose, he handed it back.

“You said something interesting earlier,” he said to Valeria. “You said to those clowns that they were focusing on the wrong subject. They needed to focus on Becca with two Cs and not Bella with two Ls.”

The friend group looked at him with puzzled expressions. Tobias leaned towards Evian with as much subtlety as a surprised peacock with its tail feathers on display.

“I didn’t realize they sent us the slim pickings…” he whispered before being interrupted.

Evian covered his mouth with her hand and smiled awkwardly. “Sorry! He’s just a real comedian when we face dire straits.”

“Ah. Well, we all have our ways of coping, I suppose,” the man cleared his throat. “The reason I say this is because you inadvertently said something I had theorized prior. As ridiculous as it may be, that document in your hands confirms it.”

The friends all turned their gaze to the paper in Bella’s hands. In all the commotion, neither she nor Valeria read it intently, but just glanced over the language of the premise of Shared Livelihoods, Shared Understanding that they recognized easily. The premise dated back almost a century and was meant to be used for a variety of situations, all aimed at promoting co-existence among humans and aliens under a shared roof. It was mostly used for cohabitation purposes, like refuge and marriage arrangements.

However, given the vague nature of the premise, and the variety of courtship practices that different alien races across the galaxy began to enact on Earth, the premise was also used to justify these practices in a binding Earthly contractual form, proceeded with an action or a series of actions. In some cases, this meant coordinated group dances as proposals of marriage, while in others it meant growing a full forest with a treehouse community for the happy new couple and their families, to name a few.

In the case of this premise, the intent was pretty clear. It was a kidnapping for co-habitation.

“I don’t get it,” Valeria said. “What does this confirm? The document clearly says that her rights are signed away. Why she would sign is beyond stupid, but whatever. As soon as she makes it to their territory that would make it official, so you need to go find her and stop wasting time!”

“That’s somewhat correct. Her rights are signed away, but they are not _her_ rights. And she didn’t forge the signature, therefore the contract is invalid for all parties involved.”

They stared at him blankly.

“Dude, we totally lost you,” Evian retorted impatiently. “Her signature is ginormous. You can’t miss it.”

“Correct. It is so large that you can barely read the bottom, making it ridiculously easy to miss the name of the designated party for whom this contract was intended.”

Bella frowned and grabbed the contract from Valeria to look at it closely. She scanned it quickly and when she reached the end, where the large signature covered most of the fine print, she could decipher the printed signatory name.

“That’s…that’s my name,” Bella said with a gasp. “Oh my God. OH MY GOD.”

“There you go.”

“What?? Let me see that,” Valeria said as she swiped it away. “Holy fucking…what the fuck does this mean? Why do you look so smug?” she yelled at the man who was getting up from the chair.

“I don’t mean to, this is simply an unusual first in my career. But not to worry, due to this blunder the contract is null. They likely made a mistake and will bring her back once they realize. However,” he said looking at Bella. “I will ask Domestic to assign a patrol vehicle for the premises here. It’s likely that whoever made the mistake will do everything in their power to remedy it.”

“What are you saying? Would they try blackmailing me?”

“It’s very possible. They gave no indication about what clan they belong to, therefore I am inclined to think that we are facing a lone wolf with, and I apologize for being blunt, a mating objective. If that is the case, I can’t be of much assistance since it is out of my diplomatic purview. You two,” he said to Valeria and Evian. “Keep a close watch on your friend and keep her safe until we learn more. Nothing we have discussed leaves this room. Trust no one.”

“Oh yeah, no pressure,” Evian murmured.

“Trust no one? Not even you?” Valeria asked with a glare.

The man’s cold and blank expression changed for the first time that night into a slight smirk. “You know I can’t answer that. Goodnight all.”

With that, he left the house. The sounds of his vehicle grew dimmer and dimmer as the seconds passed by in silence among the friends. Bella was the first to speak as she stood and paced around the room biting her thumb.

“What are we going to do?! They don’t know who it was, and by the time they find her it would be too late…we may already be too late! Oh my God…Oh my God, Becca…Becca, no…”

She fell to her knees and wept in her hands. The friends immediately rushed to her and led her back to the chair, hugging her as tightly as they could.

“I’m sure she’s fine, she knows how to handle herself, and they’ll have people looking for her non-stop tonight,” Evian said wiping her tears away, desperately trying to keep it together.

“Yes! I’m sure they’ll find her by the morning,” Tobias added. “I’ll reach out to my clubs and tell them to be on the lookout for her, and I’ll tell Zath to do the same.”

“Really?” Valeria hissed. “This dude literally _just_ _told us_ not to mention anything to anyone, and you want to tell _Zathrian_? Of all the people—“

“Not now,” Evian interrupted as she pinched Valeria and motioned to the weeping girl in her arms. “We have bigger fish to fry. And besides, we won’t raise any suspicion since we’ve had to do this so often with Becca,” Evian said with a teasing smile directed at Bella. ”So keep your head up. I promise we’ll find her. Right, Val?”

Valeria was quiet. As worried as she was about Becca, she couldn’t shake off the concern of that contract that had Bella’s name on it. She feared the worst of what would have happened if Bella had been home alone, and the possibility of this ‘lone wolf’ and their pack coming back to take the right sister .

“Val?” Evian repeated, snapping Valeria out of the imaginary nightmare playing in her head.

“Sorry. Yeah. I promise we’ll find her, Bells,” she said kissing Bella’s forehead. “I’m going call my folks and let them know I’ll be staying here for a while.”

“You don’t have to—“

“It’s not up for discussion,” she interrupted. “I’ll be right back.”

Just as Bella was about to respond, Valeria walked out of the house from the back door with her phone in hand. Evian wrapped her arm around Bella to comfort her and continued to reassure her about the likelihood that Becca was just fine, that her getting into trouble wasn’t something they were unused to.

“Think of it like that time she hitchhiked to Mexico on a fishing boat because she wanted to study marine life,” Tobias offered.

“Was that before or after they banned her from the aquarium?” Evian asked.

“After,” Bella responded with a sigh. “I appreciate it, but this is totally different. They _kidnapped_ her. She didn’t just up and leave.”

Tobias and Evian looked at each other.

“Are you sure?” Evian asked by avoiding Bella’s preoccupied gaze.

“Sure of what, Eve? Are you saying Becca decided to go grab dinner with a group that was coming to kidnap me?”

“I think,” Tobias interjected. “That what Eve means is that we’ve seen her do some equally unusual things and make unorthodox choices, so it wouldn’t be beyond her character…”

“She’s not delusional!” Bella exclaimed. “I know her! She wouldn’t knowingly put herself into a dangerous situation! I know they kidnapped her.”

“Or they tricked her,” Evian mused. “I wasn’t thinking about her character, I’m just looking at the facts. The fact is that she signed this document with letters so big that it looks like she was signing her Christmas card to Santa.”

“They must have forced her to sign it. Or tricked her. Or they forged it!”

“Bella,” Evian sighed. “You _know_ this is her handwriting.”

“Um, sorry, but how do you know?” Tobias asked with a little voice.

“She never writes anything on paper because otherwise she’ll finish an entire notebook in a day,” Evian explained. “That’s one of the reasons she uses her recorder. Her calligraphy blows up like a balloon when she gets excited, and Becca’s default mood is excited.”

They were silent for a moment as they looked at the document’s large cursive letters. Bella bit on her thumbnail when she realized what this meant.

“So she was excited to sign it and leave,” Tobias said softly and Evian nodded.

“The question is why,” Evian said as she paced around the room. “Did something happen earlier? Did you two get into a fight?”

The discussion they had earlier before she and Valeria went to the school and to Dr. Lagarto’s suddenly came flooding to her mind. Her chest tightened as she recollected her memories and pieced them together one by one and remembered the details of the alarm in the school, Becca’s disheveled state and dirty overalls, her bright smile, her angered and saddened looks…And that was all just at the start of the day. The last words she said to Becca echoed in her mind.

_Don’t get into any more trouble while we’re out._

“Goddamn it Becca,” she whispered to herself.

“Come again?”

“Um, I mean…No. No fights.”

“Alright,” Evian said slowly and raised an eyebrow. “There goes my theory then.”

“What theory?”

Evian was silent for a moment, then turned away to avoid Bella’s gaze. “I think you know.”

Meanwhile, Valeria was outside and had her own theories in mind about what was going on. She checked the time and sighed, then dialed a number and waited for it to ring a few times on the other end. Right as she was about to hang up, someone picked up the call.

“Hello?” a drowsy male voice responded.

“Hey dad.”

“Val? Why are you calling at this hour?”

“Can you drop off some stuff for me at the Smellies’?”

The line went silent on the other end, but was quickly followed by loud sniffles. “Are you…moving out already?! My little baby is all grown up…”

“Ugh,” she groaned and massaged her temples with one hand. “Dad I said _some_ stuff, not _all_ my stuff! This isn’t a joke, can you or can’t you?”

“Yes, yes kitten. Just send me a message to let me know what you need — on one condition.”

Valeria took a deep breath. “If I don’t have a choice…fine, but I’m in a hurry. What?”

“Tell me what’s going on?”

She pursed her lips and ran her fingers through her hair, tightening her grip on the single colorful braid resting on her shoulder.

“I’ll explain when you get here. And don’t tell mom.”

Valeria hung up the phone and quickly went back inside, noticing something sticky at the bottom edge of the backdoor’s frame. She knelt down, poked it with a claw, then felt it between her fingers to inspect it further before smelling it intently to let the scent imprint itself on her memory.

As she approached the friends, she noticed the scent grow stronger in the living room. The three all quietly questioned why she returned to them on all fours with her nose pressed to the ground and the furniture, but before they could say anything, she was sniffing up Tobias’ leg.

“What—what are you—stop that! We are _friends_! And we are both in very blissful romances with our dream ladies—“

“I don’t know who you think you’re in a ‘romance’ with,” Evian snickered.

“Shut up idiot. What’s that gross smelling thing in your pocket?” Valeria asked as she rummaged through his pants with dexterity. Tobias flicked her hand away and jumped around to no avail, then fell backwards as she hung onto his leg.

“Do you have no sense of privacy??”

“Just tell me what’s in your pocket!”

Valeria grabbed his wallet and pulled it out with a strong tug as she held him back with her foot. When she rummaged through it, she found the folded leaf stuck together with the goo and threw it away in disgust, right in Tobias’ face.

Bella and Evian laughed as Tobias yelled in horror and Valeria gagged in disgust.

“Get it off! Get it off!”

“Get it away!”

“Wait…” Bella said. “Is that a leaf from my tulips?!”

“Calm down you drama llamas” Evian snickered as she stuffed Valeria’s face with a pillow and pulled the leaf off of Tobias’ unibrow.

“OOOOOWWWW!” he yelped and held the now bare patch with a hand as tears welled in his eyes. “I had been meaning to get that waxed…”

“What the fuck is that thing?” Valeria said, her voice muffled through the pillow she held over her face up to her eyes. “It smells like that spiky fruit you lovebirds smuggled from your trip to Thailand.”

The friends looked amongst each other, but Evian only groaned.

“Smuggled is a poor choice of words… The durian was offered as a gift, and it would have been rude not to bring it back,” Tobias defended himself.

“Doesn’t mean you had to bring it to class.”

“It’s huge!” he retorted. “I couldn’t eat the whole thing and wanted to share it!”

“I didn’t want to go on that trip with him in the first place…”

“I don’t smell a thing, Val,” Bella said. “But are you saying it’s that leaf?”

“Not the leaf, what’s inside the leaf,” she said pointing to it from a distance.

Evian handed Bella the leaf. When she opened it, she saw the viscous substance stick to the edges as it parted under her slim fingers.

“Weird right?” Evian said. “We found traces of it on the backdoor.”

“It may be an essential clue to finding out who took Becca!” Tobias said with his palm still pressed to his forehead. “I’m sure our bloodhound could sniff them out in no time.”

“I’m not a dog,” Valeria hissed. “But you’re right. I could go to a few of the neighborhoods and try to stake out the smell.”

“That won’t bring us any closer to finding her,” Bella said. “Besides, I’m sure the investigators took samples too. They probably have a whole team of actual bloodhounds searching for the origin.”

“We don’t know that,” Valeria interrupted pulling the pillow away from her face. “And even if they do, they don’t know Becca as well as I do. I’ll be able to catch any clues they may miss -“

“No, Val,” Bella said firmly. “We don’t know who these people are. They could be more dangerous than we think.”

“I can handle myself.”

“I didn’t say you can’t.”

“Really? Because that’s what it sounds like.”

“For God’s sake! Can you put yourself in my place, just for once?” she exclaimed. “I lost my sister. I can’t afford to lose you too.”

The room grew quiet as the heaviness of the night air and stress of the day came out to haunt them. Bella rubbed her forehead and went into the kitchen for some water. Evian nudged Valeria to follow her.

“Go, apologize.”

“I know I’m right. You know I’m right. She has to stop worrying about us, it doesn’t help anyone. What happens is going to happen whether she stresses out about it or not. And I’m literally built to beat the shit up of anything that threatens us.”

“I’m not a relationship guru,” Evian said in annoyance. “But I’m pretty sure if your girlfriend is upset and stressed, then the last thing you need to do is try and convince her you’re right. So go. And. Apologize.”

She shoved Valeria towards the kitchen and whispered to her.

“Stop being a prideful idiot and thinking about finding these guys to beat them up. Think about what’s going to happen if they do come back, and you’re not _here_ to protect her and Maurice. What are you going to do then? Beat yourself up?”

Evian put a pod into Becca’s homemade coffee machine and put in her favorite dozen settings to brew her perfect coffee cup. No one except she and Tobias used the machine, since the Smellie house was filled with tea drinkers and a ‘free office coffee’ man. Valeria couldn’t take caffeine or she risked crashing like an un-piloted rocket. Evian motioned to Bella looking at Valeria straight in the eyes to make her purposefully uncomfortable, then turned around to give them some privacy.

“Hon,” Valeria said, softly placing a hand on Bella’s waist. “I’m sorry. You’re right, I need to stay here. I won’t go anywhere.”

Bella looked at her lovingly. “Promise?”

“Promise,” she said and kissed her forehead. “My dad is dropping my stuff off actually. He should be here soon.”

“You didn’t tell him, right?”

“Nah,” she said and rubbed the crease between Bella’s eyebrows. “Look, I have to ask. Do you think it’s possible Becca left, like, on her own?”

“No,” Bella said firmly. “I’ve been thinking about it, and I know she didn’t.”

“But the signature, Bells…” Evian said

“No,” she interrupted. “If they did get her to sign and leave on her own, it can only be for one reason.”

“They want to marry her?” Valeria said with a misplaced laugh.

Bella glared at her, causing her to promptly be quiet.

“Sorry,” she apologized. “But that’s literally the only reason you use those kinds of agreements nowadays.”

“And Becca wouldn’t do that, which means only one thing: they figured out a way to gain her trust, and tricked her. Completely deceived her. If that’s the case, then I’m less worried.”

Valeria and Evian stared at her unable to express their surprise and uneasiness. Evian grabbed her coffee and took a long gulp of the bitter drink.

“Please clarify that for the class”

“Yeah, Bells. That doesn’t make a ton of sense…She’d still be in danger.”

“You don’t know her like I do. You can’t really trick people with brilliant minds like Becca.Because eventually they find out your true colors, and they never, ever forgive you.”

Evian looked at Valeria and sighed then walked back to the living room, already halfway done with her cup of coffee. Bella followed behind her. Valeria stood in the kitchen for a moment to consider what Bella said, but she didn’t feel as confident in the statement. All they could do is hope, and, as they intended, do some digging in the background while keeping Bella safe. She ran her fingers through her hair and approached the friends, all the while thinking how desperately she wished Bella was right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One chapter to go to end Act/Part 1!!! Leave a Kudos to make my day <3


	14. Identity Crisis

The warm midnight air hung heavily over Aliva, but the outskirts were crisp and cool as a pod carrying two small bodies, one human and one alien, sped up the mountain at an extreme velocity. There was a dirt road without much illumination at the base of the mountain, and as the summit came into view, the road grew so dark and foggy that even the headlights were of little use. When they reached the halfway point up through the mist, a low bell sound reverberated in the pod. Boye pressed a button on the steering wheel causing a map to come into view on the dashboard.

Becca’s eyes grew wide and her finger instinctively reached up to touch on one of the many dots flashing on the map, but Boye turned off the map before she could touch it.

“Sorry but we’re running late, and if you press anything it’ll jet us straight to wherever you point your finger and I just can’t risk getting hit over the head with a clipboard or wrench,” Boye said and realized he probably shouldn’t have shared that detail of his workplace. “Um. Not that that happens often…The boss just hates it when people are late.”

“Fine,” Becca responded with a sigh and a pout that made her cheeks double in size like a chipmunk.

The pout remained as the pod stopped near a large rock fixture, moved aside after Boye pressed a button on the pod’s steering wheel, and pulled it into a garage with at least half a dozen other pods, motorcycles, and even a small flying contraption. 

“Don’t tell me you’re going to keep that face when I introduce you to the master!”

“I’ll keep it for as long as I want.”

“No no no you have to look your best!”

“Why?”

“Well, Gai told me that’s what humans do for their unions —“ he said before quickly covering his mouth and yelping. His heart quickened in fear and he cowered into his seat, expecting to see her yell or run out of the pod. To his surprise, she only looked puzzled.

“Huh, a labor union meeting on the first day? That’s pretty European, but sounds cool,” she said and hopped out of the vehicle with Emily between her arms.

Boye jumped out in turn and grabbed all of her stuff quickly before leading them down a long and dimly lit corridor. A few robots whizzed by as Boye explained details about the evening in the most cryptic way possible.

“You’ll just need to change into something a little…fresher. And then we’ll go in for the ceremony…it’s really more of an introduction, nothing too formal. Just a little formal. But anyway the boss’ll be there and he’ll be so excited to finally meet you. We just need to get through this little bit and then you’re free as a bird and you can explore as much as you —“ he cut himself off when he turned around and noticed she was gone.“Oh no.”

With a loud thud that echoed down the hallway, he dropped all of the belongings he was carrying over his shoulders and retraced his steps with a jog. As he made his way back the way he came, he noticed a strand of purple hair laying on the floor in the corner of another hallway entrance that led to a large staircase. The staircase to the West Wing.

“Oh no no no,” he exclaimed and quickened his pace, then fell to the ground on his belly and slid to grab the little strand of hair before it disappeared. He felt a tug and stopped her as she raised her foot to the first step of the staircase. “No no no. Not the West Wing!”

“But you said I could explore anywhere I wanted!” Becca exclaimed, followed by a bark of agreement from Emily. “I don’t have my scanner on me but I get a gut feeling that there’s something dark, mysterious and terrible this way. And I wanna seeeee ittttt!”

Boye stood and led her away quickly by the strap of her overalls. “Nope. You can go anywhere you’d like, except for the West Wing.”

“But what’s there?! What is it? Can’t you give me a clue? Oh I know! I’ll guess, and you tell me if I’m warm or cold.”

He sighed and tried to avoid her gaze, but as they walked back down the hallway he could feel her brown eyes burrowing a hole into the side of his head. When they reached the area where Boye dropped off her things, she picked up her backpack and they set off back where they left off.

“Okay,” he conceded. “That’s the Master’s sanctum. No one is allowed in there - no one!”

“Huh, _sanctum_ ,” she murmured and pulled out her tablet from her bag. “From the late Latin ’sanctum sanctorum,’ meaning ‘holy of holies.’ In late English it attested to a person’s private retreat.”

Unsure of what to answer to that, Boye just nodded in agreement. “Yes, that sounds right.”

“So, a Church?” she asked. Boye remained quiet and only gave an uncomprehending smirk, so she continued her guesses. “Ah right, that would be the old version. Then it’s a man cave!” He shook his head, leaving her puzzled. “Okay okay, give me a clue.”

“I really can’t. I’ve never been up there and I like having all eight of my toes so I don’t plan on finding out,” he said as they reached her room at the end of the hall. “Home sweet home.”

Boye pushed the door open with his foot and dropped her belongings off in the front of the room then turned on the only light switch in the room - or any of the rooms. Becca rushed inside, then immediately began to skip and prance around as her long hair swished with her movements and tapped the antique furniture and pristine pastel-colored decorations. It was a very spacious bedroom, perfectly furnished by Gai to suit the preferences and personality of its new owner after all of the research and dedication put into the plan. This detail wasn’t part of Opaleian’s plan, in fact, he couldn’t care less about the room. For all he knew she would be accommodated in their dungeon, as was his request.

However, he needed to be reminded that they didn’t own a dungeon, only the one spare room that his brother self-appointed as his personal guest bedroom when he visited. The chance to get rid of that room once and for all made Opaleian so ecstatic that he gave Gai the unlimited freedom and money to design, tinker, and spend as much as necessary to accomplish the task - or rather, “artistic vision.” Gai wanted nothing more than to put the wealth of knowledge on gained to devise their perfect plan to good use. Good **creative** use, to be precise.

_“Aesthetic preferences include flowers, pinks, ample lights, classic artwork, mirrors, storage for clothes and books…Humans are so predictable,”_ Gai had said to Boye when furnishing the room weeks prior.

_“I thought human companions shared quarters?”_ Boye asked Gai with an inquisitive look.

_“Yes, but that would require the human to share all of his quarters._ ** _All_** _quarters,”_ Gai emphasized and pointed in the direction of the sanctum. _“When was the last time you ever saw a living thing make it out of there?”_

Boye gulped. _“A mouse a few months ago I think…but I don’t remember it coming out alive.”_

_“God, he’s so dramatic.”_

_“That’s one way to put it…”_

A loud crash resonated throughout the room, bringing Boye back to the reality of the present situation he had at hand. When he looked to his right, he saw exactly what that was: a guest that just broke a vase.

“Whoopsie! Sorry, it’s so dark I couldn’t see it,” Becca said picking up the pieces of clay. “Hope that wasn’t expensive?”

Boye shook his head and dragged her away, worried she was going to cut herself. “No need to concern yourself! You just stay right there and don’t move, okay?”

He knelt down to pick up the pieces and left them on the table side where the vase had rested moments ago. By the time he turned back, he noticed she wasn’t standing at the spot he indicated, and instead was bouncing up and down the large bed with over a dozen subtly-colored pillows in the same shades as the wallpaper, blinds, and duvet covers. She giggled and yelled in excitement as she jumped higher and higher, stretching with all her might from the tips of her toes to her fingertips until she reached about halfway towards the ceiling.

After a few more dizzying tries, she fell on her back and disappeared within the sea of pillows and the soft, feathery bed. Boye gasped and rushed over in concern before tossing the pillows to the floor in search of her.

“No no no you can’t die on me! Not when you’re still my responsibility!”

Becca’s head popped up from behind one of the larger pillows and tossed another directly at his face, causing him to fall back in surprise.

“Pillow fight!” she exclaimed jumping up and carrying as many pillows as her small frame could carry, then proceeding to run around the room and take cover behind a sofa.

As Boye started to get up, she threw another pillow at him, except this time he caught it.

“We don’t have time for this!” he whispered. “Gai will be here any minute…”

“Words won’t help you win this war!” she bellowed with a mocking tone and expression. “Your defenses are shattered! All you can do now is lay on the offensive - unless you surrender, and concede to a crushing DEFEAT!”

With a pillow in hand, Boye saw two options before him: put it down, or throw it with the force and propulsion of a rocket. Gripping the pillow, he decided on the latter option.

The pillow went flying over his head and hit Becca directly in the face. She laughed and threw two at him, which he dodged with expert precision thanks to his little flying abilities. He caught one and dove to catch another before pelting them back at her, but she jumped on the sofa and used one of the cushions as a makeshift shield to block the aerial attacks. After a standstill of a couple of seconds, she gathered all of the pillows behind the sofa and made a small fort with its cushions. Tired of using his wings, Boye fell to the ground panting and slowly approached the fort, thinking she may forfeit. He was a mere ten steps away when he saw her pop out of the fort and launch a succession of almost twenty pillows at him, driving him away from the fort and towards the door.

Becca laughed maniacally as she refused to let up. The noises of laughter, crashing objects, flapping wings and battle cries all reached the hallway outside of her room, where Gai happened to be passing by carrying the freshly tailored dress for the ceremony. With furrowed brows and a deep breath, they knocked on the door and took a step inside before being hit square in the face by one of the larger and heavier satin pillows and falling backward.

When Gai awoke a few moments later, the dress had disappeared, and Boye was fanning them with some papers from their workroom.

“Don’t you dare crinkle that, or you’ll have to iron it,” Gai said with a groan. “What the hell was that monstrosity?? I feel like I got hit by a rock. A very soft, glossy rock…”

“Um, one of the fancy pillows you bought,” Boye said in defeat. “We were just having a small pillow fight…”

“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!”

“For…for quality control!” Boye stammered and helped Gai up.

With a hand rubbing and rubbing the back of their head so furiously until the hair became a tousled white poof, Gai groaned and just focused on the pounding headache. Boye was explaining something about the pillows or the room or the girl, but everything was falling on deaf and ringing ears. Through the noise, an unfamiliar and slightly muffled, shrill voice called out from the room.

“I can’t see or get my head through!” the voice called out.

“Coming!” Boye called out before he turned around abruptly and ran back into the room. “She’s putting on the dress now so I’ll bring her in a few minutes. You can go get the Master? Yeah? Yeah!”

With that, the door to the room closed behind Boye, leaving a dumbstruck Gai standing outside of with a hand over their head.

“Sleepovers are so 2190,” Gai humphed as they walked back the way they came, then proceeded to enter the nearby elevator to reach the top of the compound.

As expected, Opaleian was tinkering on something in his lair. Bright blue flashes of fire flew around the room as he wielded a few mechanical pieces of robotic materials together. Despite the characteristic actions and use of his protective goggles, nothing else about him seemed habitual. His blue hair was slicked completely back, and he wore his ceremonial gear with military rankings all marked on the inside of his cape, as well as his arm and chest protections. The gear was a muted matte gray color, while his cape and protections were bright red with faded dark blue markings.

There was no door to the lair anymore, as it was the latest victim after Opaleian’s most recent outburst after the incident with the malfunctioning aerial spaceship prototype for their main client, the Alivan Government. However, Gai still instinctively knocked every time and walked in.

“Why bother knocking if you’re just going to waltz in as you please,” Opaleian growled without turning around to face Gai. “What do you want?”

“I think it’s a great compromise! It lets you have your rugged structure and gives me my element of surprise —“

“What. Do. You. Want,” Opaleian repeated removing his goggles and turning to look at Gai.

“All preparations have been made, my Lord. If you can pencil it into your schedule, I’m pretty sure you have a wedding to attend to now.”

“Your impertinence will be punished if you continue with that tone,” he growled. “What of the girl?”

“She’s fine! The mission went without a hitch,” Gai said and received a notification from the back outpost. “Oh and speaking of hitch, the Justice is here to officiate. Things are getting very official now, aren’t they?”

Opaleian nodded and waved Gai away before returning to his work station. Gai turned at the door.

“My Lord, it’s not too late to avoid this. We can scare her off and blame it on the tradition of human runaway bride scenario…”

“Go,” Opaleian ordered. “Let’s get this over with.”

In the meantime, Boye was sitting outside of Becca’s room by the door after being kicked out for having to help her put on the ill-fitting dress. Becca was so embarrassed that she had to have a boy help her put it on that she forced him to close his eyes. This made the process even more difficult, and Boye proceeded to have to lower the dress over her head with his eyes closed, his head turned almost a full ninety degrees away, and his thumb and index carefully gripping the fabric to lower it slowly bit by bit to avoid risking accidentally touching something that shouldn’t be touched.

“Don’t you humans wear your underwear to watering holes? How is this different?!” Boye asked.

“It’s not the same!!!” Becca yelped in a muffled voice through the dress with her arms held high in the air and her long hair somehow stuck in the sleeves. “Just get it on me and go outside.”

So now here he was, waiting for her to finish. After a few moments, he too received the notification that the Justice had arrived. Just as he was about to knock on Becca’s door to see how she was doing, she emerged from the room.

The dress had puffy sleeves and was a beautiful cream color with gold flecks, a flower pattern and…long. Very, very long. She scrunched it up to the side and tied it with a knot, folded the sleeves, and had the belt adjusted to the maximum. The buttons on the dress were the only thing that fit tightly, and they were much too tight at the chest. Boye realized at that moment why it was that the dress couldn’t go down fully when he was helping, though he couldn’t see it at the time and could only _feel_ the resistance. The shoes in her wardrobe didn’t fit, so she had on the sneakers she brought from home instead. Her hair was made up in two new pigtails after the previous iteration became completely undone due to the dress ordeal. At least that looked normal.

Boye looked at her, not knowing what to say but also extremely confused as to how Gai got her measurements so wrong. _Especially_ knowing Gai.

“Why do I need to wear this to meet the Boss? I don’t know a lot about job interviews and stuff, but I would have gone for more a classic suit look to be honest.”

“No no! It looks great,” Boye said reassuringly and led her down the corridor to the elevator. “This is just a formality. Nothing fancy, we just need to follow tradition. I mean…protocol! Protocol for… _unions_.”

Boye received a message from Gai at that moment through his watch. The instructions had three simple bullets of directions:

  * Have her take the flowers on the table and wait on her own until the music starts, then she can follow the carpet and candles to reach us
  * As soon as she has the flowers send me a message to start the music and make your way to us at the end of the carpet
  * Give the signed copy of the contract to the Justice



By the time he finished reading the instruction, he and Becca hoped out of the elevator and made it to the entry hall on the bottom floor, where a table with a flower bouquet was waiting next to the elevator.

“Here, do you like them?”

“Ohh pretty!” Becca exclaimed and grabbed the flower bouquet to stuff in her face.

“Now you just keep smelling them, and when you hear the music, you’re going to follow this red carpet all the way down to us, okay?”

“Wow this is a really fancy labor union party. It’s kind of weird…” she said distracted and looked at Boye inquisitively.

Boye’s mouth ran dry, then he began to feel an uncomfortable metal taste in his throat as his heart pounded so loudly, he could feel the reverberations in his stomach.

“Wait a minute,” she said. “If this is a party, does that mean we also get cake?”

He gave the deepest and most subtle sigh of relief he could muster. “Yes! Lots and lots of cake. But it’s for _after_ the ceremony. We just need to get this little part over with.”

Becca’s eyes glistened at the thought of cake. She straightened up and checked her dress before giving Boye a big thumb’s up.

“Let’s do it!”

Boye rushed down following the candles lined around the hallway and gave Gai a notice through his watch. The music started when he was about halfway at the end of the carpet that led him through parlors, up a staircase, and down a hallway before reaching the room where the “union” ceremony was taking place. Upon seeing Gai, he used the rest of his energy and flew towards the group

The two stood side by side next to the Justice on one side, while Opaleian stood on the other. As the music played, Gai grew curious about how it was that Boye and Bella became so close. It had to be the brief packet and all of the research inside. It was so meticulous you could make up exactly what was necessary to gain anyone’s trust.

“How did the mission go?” Gai whispered to Boye.

“Great!” Boye said proudly. “We played video games for a while, and then she decided to sign the Agreement to join us, all on her own! Didn’t need to tie her up or anything.”

“Marvelous,” Gai smiled in complete surprise. “I knew that all of my methodical planning would give you the best recipe for succe-“

After a few seconds of mental run-through of the brief packet, Gai froze in stupor.

“Did you say, video games?”

“Yeah! She was great at them too.”

“Strange,” Gai murmured rubbing their head in the area that was bruised from the pillow fight earlier. “I don’t remember finding that in my research…”

“ _Ahem_ ,” the Justice cleared his throat. “Who has the contract?”

Boye fumbled and pulled the folded contract from his pocket and handed it to the Justice. He put on his glasses and frowned as he read through it.

“I’ve never seen such a large signature…”

Opaleian, clearly disinterested in everything happening around him before, shifted his gaze to the Justice and the paper. He looked down and saw the unquestionable immense signature and cocked an eyebrow.

“What on Earth would possess her to write so large?”

“Some people just have flowery handwriting, much like myself I must admit,” Gai said fluttering their wings slightly to get a good view of the contract. “Huh, her cursive Ls look a lot like Cs.”

Curious, Boye wondered what Gai meant by that.

“What Ls?”

“Duh! The Ls in Bella’s signature. Fly up if you’re so curious.”

Boye froze in terror. Memories of the entire day started replaying backward in his mind until he reached the moment where Gai and he were in the noisy factory floor and couldn’t hear one another. Gai had given Boye the briefing packet earlier, and was mouthing something, then proceeded to write the name of the target on Boye’s hand.

His mind replayed that moment until he could focus on the name written in his hand, and compared it to the smudged name that he had now. As he looked down at his sweaty hand, the name appeared so faded he could hardly read it, but after hearing the name out loud, hearing the words “Bella Smellie” and seeing it written in Gai’s cursive handwriting…the puzzle pieces of the oddities of that day all began to make unfortunate perfect sense.

The little drops of sweat he felt earlier in the day, the ones that ran down his back and sent a shover all throughout his body, were back. Except now they felt like icicles digging into his body and soul.

“I think I read somewhere that that means the person is relaxed and spontaneous. What a contrast that will be with her husband! Whatever will you do?” Gai asked Opaleian in a mimicking tone. Opaleian only growled in response.

“If you want to clean the sewers so badly, you need only ask. Ordering you to do so as punishment for your insolence hardly seems necessary.”

Boye’s consciousness had faded out of the conversation, but it went on, just as the music did. With seconds, Becca was making her way to the room, and was only a corridor away from the “altar.”

“Be ** _LL_** a?” he murmured to himself, completely disconnected from reality as he stared into the vast nothingness of the future that awaited him.

Gai nudged him and looked at him in annoyance. “Yes! I think she’s rounding the bend now.”

“No no no no no…”

“What is the matter with him?” Opaleian hissed in a whisper.

“Not quite sure. Can wedding guests get those human pre-wedding jitters? Are they contagious? They sound contagious,” Gai asked the Justice and blocked the holes of their nose. The Justice responded something curt, but Gai couldn’t pay attention after realizing exactly why Boye was catatonic.

Gai had that briefing packet on the target memorized. Age, height, weight, physical appearance, likes, dislikes, family history, Alivan popularity score…everything. As soon as those long, purple pigtails came into sight, Gai knew exactly who that was.

“Oh nooo no no no…”

“Will you two bumbling idiots quit it?”

“My Lord, we may need to revert to plan B.”

“What?”

“Summon the killer robots and scare her away.”

“Are you mad?!”

“Okay, killer hornets then. Or just show her your teeth…”

“Of all the days to act like the crazed, useless buffoons you are, you choose today?! Do one thing right and just be quiet!”

“I can’t read this. The print is too fine, it’s terribly crumpled, and this person signed directly over the name,” the Justice interrupted. He sighed and removed his glasses, then handed the contract to Opaleian. “So the name I am using is Bella Smellie?”

Opaleian nodded just as Becca walked in with a spring in her step and awe-struck over the exciting blast through the past she had just experienced. She couldn’t think of a time she saw candles in use outside of the Aliva History Museum reenactments, but now not only did she have a chance to see almost to a hundred of them up close, but she was also actually _using_ them. They were the only thing keeping her from being submerged in complete darkness. The mere thought sent excited shivers down her spine. As she reached the wide and open room, the light from the moon and the balcony at the far edge came into focus amidst the darkness. When she entered the room, though nothing was decorated per Opaleian’s request, she still found it to be the most beautiful room she had ever seen. It was so airy and sleek, with just enough light from the candles in the room and outside past the balcony that overlooked the city of Aliva in the distance. The awe of it all amazed her so much she couldn’t even think to ask why the candles were used in a leading technological company, just as she didn’t think to ask why she was carrying the flowers, or who this impossibly tall alien was.

That’s when it hit her. Her cheeks reddened and she couldn’t believe she hadn’t realized it sooner: this was her boss!

Her mouth hung open as she made a long, continuous happy squeal of elation and nervousness.

“Y-you-you’re —“

Opaleian scoffed as he fixed his uniform slightly, then turned to the Justice. “She is here. Now what? Are we settled, then?”

“Normally I would have to read the full dictamen XIV of the Arrival Agreement and you would sign the provisions and contract, but since you have both agreed and signed to your Shared Livelihoods, Shared Understanding agreement, I will just need verbal confirmation from the Signatory, in this case. Unless either of you two would like me to introduce some elements of ceremony. I have a couple of drinking glasses you can break, or can provide you with bands, or give a moving speech about this union —“

“No,” he interrupted. “None of that. Get on with it.”

The Justice rolled his eyes. “I guess that means no wedding song either then. Very well.”

As the Justice and Opaleian talked back and forth during this time, Becca was trying to get Boye’s attention, but was a little confused to see his friend that looked a lot like him pulling at his hair as they flew over him. She could have sworn the friend was hissing something a little… _unfriendly_.

“Do you accept the terms herein stated in the Shared Livelihoods, Shared Understanding contract you have entered with this Host…Bella Smellie?” the Justice asked and motioned to Opaleian, who stood firm and tall as an immovable tree without any semblance of an expression.

Gai and Boye both began to back away slowly as they saw their mission target look between the Justice and Opaleian.

“Yeah sure!” she answered with a smile. “Oh one quick thing though, my name is actually Becca. Hope that’s not a problem!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> END OF PART 1! :D 
> 
> Leave a Kudos if you're enjoying the story!


	15. Dust

The subsequent events after the “union” made everyone unbearably uncomfortable - except for Becca. Becca was just there for the science job.

The bewildered Justice had to be escorted out by one of the robot helpers named Lumiere, though to be frank, they both needed to run away to escape the rampage Opaleian went on as he tore through the ceremony room, the hallways, the factory plant, and the garage as he chased his associates around Orda Co. Becca gave a cheery wave goodbye to the Justice then proceeded to follow her new colleagues for a while with a quick jog, though she was still unable to understand the reason for the sudden commotion. After a few minutes of running and dodging the occasional set of debris, she got bored and headed back to her room. The candles were blown out around the floors where the trio was hot on the chase, but luckily for her, the hallway that led to her room still seemed to be lit as she exited the elevator. She patted the doorframe of her room to turn on the light switch that gave a light, flickering orange glow. The light turned on to show the room riddled with pillows and disorganized furniture.

As the door opened, Emily jumped on Becca and greeted her with a multitude of sticky kisses, to which Becca laughed and wiped off with the disheveled dress. She took a look around the room and decided the best time to start unpacking was probably now, out of a lack of anything else to do. The push of responsibility and organization wasn’t the reason - that was a specialty in Bella’s field.

Becca rummaged through her suitcase and pulled out her clothes by giving them a swift toss in the air until she found what she was looking for - her pajamas, which she put on swiftly, and her personal gaming console.

“Jackpot!” she exclaimed and turned to Emily happily, who was nowhere to be found. “Emily? Where did ya go you silly goose?”

Little mechanical barks could be heard from under a pile of tops and long socks, then the pile shifted slightly as a snout popped up from beneath. Becca laughed and lifted Emily out from under the clothes and let her run free around the room. She took her VR headset and set up the gaming console next to a newly empty wall after removing the pieces of artwork and putting them under the bed. The canvas paintings were multiple whimsical representations of emotions with bright colors, varied shapes, and were originals from a renowned and mysterious Aliva artist that went by the name LechiM.

These details escaped Becca since her primary concern was the beautiful blank wall behind the canvases. Regardless, she wouldn’t have recognized the name, though she did think about how much Bella would like the paintings as she tucked them under the bed.

“When Noob comes to visit, we’ll show her these,” she said to Emily with a smile. “Now let’s play!”

The next few minutes flew by as she picked the game back up where she had left off earlier the prior day, when the Chubby Cherub dropped the flowers off for her and invited her to join Orda Co. Her mind raced as she both replayed all of the events that transpired over the past 24 hours and simultaneously also played the video game. Doing both things proved to be quite enjoyable, as she felt so ecstatic it was like she was flying on a cloud.

A couple of things did bother her though. After thinking back to everything that happened with her family once she got home after school, she realized at that moment that she hadn’t communicated with her family about her plans. In her rush to get everything ready to leave, she completely forgot to leave a note on the fridge. Then she was too distracted observing the pod’s controls as they left Aliva to reach Orda Co. Then, to top it off, she had to go through a whole weird European labor union initiation ceremony, and try to think back to all the stories her father told her about France and the U.K. to get some context on how to behave and what social cues to use.

Fortunately, she didn’t have a need for those cues. This was of particular relief to her because the only ones she remembered were _‘don’t send food back’_ and _‘don’t speak the non-native language if you can avoid it.’_ For the purpose of the latter, she had a feature she developed and downloaded on her trusty recorder that allowed her to use it as a portable translator. Even if she couldn’t speak the language, the recorder could, and the recorder was an extension of her. That counts, right?

The other thing that bothered her, possibly more than anything, was the incessant and loud cat and mice chase taking place around Orda Co. Not the fact that the game interrupted her onboarding process, though that did come to mind, but the fact that they were being so loud she could barely hear the noises and music of the gameplay despite her specialized headset. Ignoring it only worked for a while, and once the noises reached her hallway, she couldn’t take it any longer. Becca sighed and pulled the headset over her head so it rested on her forehead, forcing her back into reality.

Meanwhile, Opaleian had destroyed a solid third of the company: a new personal destruction record that Gai was keeping careful tabulation of as he chased them with the fiery fury of a thousand suns.

“That’s 37 decimated bots, 16 destroyed rooms, 170 hours of cleanup…My Lord, that’s probably en—“ Gai dodged a chair chucked at them as Boye ran off to hide behind the hallway table. “Oh my GODS! Can we please just stop throwing things? We can’t afford the cleaners’ overtime!”

“M-maybe we could still do the ceremony?” Boye offered from behind the overturned table.

Gai, who was previously only focused on keeping their own life intact, deflected attention towards Boye now: the little devil that got them into this mess. Gai slid to reach him and grabbed him from the shirt, then shook him as hard as possible.

“You! How do you _always_ mess things up even when I give you _everything_ on a gold platter?!”

Opaleian caught up to them and lifted the table, his red fangs protruding, and his eyes an equally bright red and glazed with anger. The composed alien from during the ceremony had disappeared, and now all that was left was just a large, looming being with a vision of vengeance.

“I will not be made a fool of, and certainly not by the likes of two lowly, useless **_imps_**!” he exclaimed as he threw the table against the wall, shattering it into countless pieces, then grabbed them both by the backs of their collars. “I you make the slightest movement, I will break your wings and crush your bones into the dust.”

His two associates gulped and tried to remain calm as they remained still as cowered gargoyles.

“Now,” he growled. “I will be magnanimous and allow you two to decide who I shall kill first.”

“Master! It’s not Gai’s fault!” Boye exclaimed. “I forgot to study the briefing packet and couldn’t find it by the time I made it to the house…It was all just a mix-up, followed by a very ill-timed coincidence…B-but I have some good news!”

Opaleian frowned and cracked his bony knuckles. “Try me.”

“The girl, Becca, came with me willingly! Even if the contract doesn’t work, I’m sure she’ll stay.”

Opaleian and Gai stared at him blankly. “You didn’t kidnap her? What about the sleeping powder?” Gai asked.

“Eh, it kind of wore off…”

“What did you promise her?” Opaleian asked under gritted teeth.

Boye gulped. “Wh-who said I promised her anything?”

“Don’t play coy with me, imp,” he hissed and let go of Gai to take Boye’s neck between both of his hands and lift him up. “ _What_ did you promise her?”

Boye held on to the hands that were suffocating him and coughed weakly. “A-a job…”

Opaleian growled and held him higher. “Lies!” he accused.

“It’s the truth…” Boye breathed out. “I told her…you were a fan…she’s a fan of yours… loves Orda…wants to work…”

Opaleian stared at him, his expression shifting from ire to confusion, to increased anger. Gai wasn’t surprised by the events that took place and just listened intently as they ran through the briefing packet in their mind, trying to recall anything that had to do with the sister.

“Your last words will be your lies to me,” he growled and raised an arm with his clawed fist.

“Come to think of it,” Gai said scratching their head and interrupting the tender depiction of violence taking place at that moment. “I do remember finding in my research that she’s adept at mechanical engineering.”

Opaleian cocked an eyebrow and glared at Gai. “How would you ever know that?”

“Well,” Gai sighed. “Remember the pod’s mercurial alarm that used to turn on randomly?”

“The one you said you fixed?” Opaleian asked through gritted teeth.

“Now now, I never said that **_I_** fixed it, I just said **_it was_** fixed -”

“You let a human touch the pod?!” Opaleian yelled and grabbed Gai by the collar, dropping a limp Boye as he struggled to catch his breath.

“It’s not like I invited her to lunch!” Gai objected and pried open Oplaiean’s grip just enough to breathe. “When I was staking outside their house one morning she heard the alarm, and when I got out to kick the pod to be quiet, she was just _there_ with some kids’ tools. I don’t know what she did but she fixed it within like five minutes. I didn’t realize it was her until now. I swear! She looked like hell when I saw her.”

Opaleian growled but let go of Gai, who fell to the floor with a loud thud.

“Ow! That was so unnecessary,” Gai said rubbing their butt. “Why don’t we just keep her and get her to work on the pods?”

“I will not hire humans to do all of the jobs you two are too incompetent for.”

“Not all! Just…one?” Gai pleaded on the ground at Opaleian’s feet. “I have to re-shape my claws every time I touch those tools. And my wings get so crusty with all that static.”

“For those reasons alone I will take personal pleasure in vacating her from the premises banishing her from ever returning.”

He stomped away and walked down the hallway towards her room. Before he could make it very far, Gai and Boye were clinging to his legs to impede him from walking any further without tripping, or kicking them off. He proceeded to try the latter to no avail.

“Looks like those extra pounds are coming in handy,” Gai whispered to Boye with a wink.

“GET. OFF.”

“Master, please! She’s more perfect for you…I mean, us, than you realize!” Boye pleaded.

“My Lord, you will reconsider when you think back to the grand plan,” Gai said.

“Yeah! We can just switch the name on the contract and bring the Justice back…”

“SHE IS UNDERAGE!” Opaleian bellowed, punching the wall with his fist in anger.

From behind Opaleian’s ominous and large figure, the sound of a creaking door followed by a few small steps interrupted their conversation.

“Aaaaactually,” Becca said, popping out from behind him. “If you’re worried about those pesky labor laws or your taxes, have no fear! I turned 18 a few months ago. I just look young for my age because of my adorable and pinchable cheeks.”

The little creature that stood before them did have adorable and punchable cheeks, along with two freshly adjusted pigtails, and an oversized pair of matching cotton pajamas with a cartoon of the Cosmic Kittens group she loved so much. The trio that was arguing moments ago froze, unsure about how much she heard of their conversation.

“Sorry, were you all having a meeting? I was trying to finish this level on my console and you’re being a teeny, tiny bit too loud for me to even hear my own thoughts. It’s just a lot of RA RA RA!”

Becca smiled as they stared at her quietly. Her eyes wandered around the hallway and she played with her pigtails distractedly. She looked between the three of them, then back towards the edge of the hallway as she inspected the debris to analyze the material of the walls. It was made up of dusty sand particles that coagulated when meshed together, but turned to ash when they fell from the wall. The trio eyed each other carefully as she walked away with a skip and a hum.

“She is unaware of everything it seems,” Opaleian whispered

“It seems so, my Lord,” Gai answered in a whisper. “But to be honest I’m all kinds of confused.”

“How in the Gods did you even get her here?” Opaleian growled at Boye.

“I was telling the truth! I offered her a job.”

Opaleian fumed. “That can easily be arranged once I destroy you. Any imbecile would do a better job than you imps!”

“Wow, now don’t loop me into this,” Gai humphed. “I did everything right on my end. And like I said, this could be used to our advantage on all fronts.”

“I will not keep her so you can eschew your duties,” Opaleian snapped.

“I wouldn’t dream of it, my Lord. But, if we want to fix this conundrum, we’ll still need the real Bella. And to get the real Bella, what better bait than her precious baby sister?”

Although everything that day had gone completely against Opaleian’s master plan, he conceded when he realized that this may be the best solution. He noticed that the girl was smitten with even the tiniest of things as she looked at the wall’s fallen dust like it was made up of particles of gold. Keeping her busy would cause little trouble.

Most importantly, this meant that they had a fool-proof plan to ensure the real target would cooperate. He couldn’t realize he hadn’t thought about it before. Boye’s stupidity and recklessness inadvertently led him to execute a key military strategy that even he, Opaleian, Dark Overlord, and General for Arcturium, had not yet attempted: escalating a kidnapping, to a hostage situation.


End file.
